Survey of Public Participation in the Arts 1992 [United States]

Produced By: National Endowment for the Arts, 1992, Washington, D.C.

Author: National Endowment for the Arts

Abstract (CPANDA): This data collection offers information on Americans' participation in the arts, including ballet, opera, plays, museums, and concerts, during 1992. Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and conducted by the United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, this survey was a supplement to a larger national survey, the National Crime Survey (NCS). Respondents were asked a core set of questions about their past-year participation in, and frequency of attending, art performances and events in the following categories: jazz music, classical music, opera, musicals, plays (nonmusical), ballet, other dance, art museums, arts-crafts fairs, and historical park/monument sites. The 1992 survey specifically asked respondents not to include grade school or high school performances for all participation questions. Unlike the 1982 and 1985 SPPAs, the 1992 core questionnaire included questions about exposure to the arts via the media, both broadcast and recorded. Also, all surveys included questions about the kinds of activities respondents would like to do more, and which activities they would like to do most. Other core questions measured the amount and type of leisure reading in which the respondents engaged, measured separately for plays, poetry, novels and short stories, in the last year. Questions also tapped exposure to literature and poetry through live and recorded readings. The long form of the questionnaire, which was completed by all respondents in the second six months of 1992, included many additional items. Respondents were asked about participation in such leisure activities as movies, sports, amusement parks, exercise, outdoor activities, charity work, home improvements, and gardening. A series of questions measured art making and performance. The long form measured musical preferences, participation in and venues of classes and lessons throughout the life cycle, as well as parental education levels.

Methodology (CPANDA) : A total of 12,736 completed surveys were collected from a sample of U.S. households. The sample was selected using a stratified, multi-stage, clustered design and drawn from Census Bureau population counts. All non-institutionalized individuals living in the U.S. were eligible. All those above age 18 in selected households were asked to respond. The survey had an overall response rate of slightly less than 80 percent. The 1992 SPPA consisted of 20 percent face-to-face and 80 percent telephone interviews. The survey was appended to the National Crime Survey, conducted by the Census Bureau for the Department of Justice. The National Crime Survey is an on-going household sample survey. In the first six months of 1992, 6,947 respondents answered only core questions about arts participation and attitudes about the arts. The 5,789 respondents surveyed in the last six months of 1992 were asked all core questions in addition to a rotating battery of other questions. The data included a weight variable to make the sample representative of the U.S. population by age, gender and ethnicity.