- Welcome
- Important notice
- About the author
- About this site
- Site guide + Search box
- Dedications
- Acknowledgments
- My personal pantheon (of the great and the good in survey research)
- Recent and planned activities
- Textbooks for Research Methods and Data Analysis
- 1: Survey Analysis Workshop (SPSS)
- 1a: Statistical concepts and methods
- 1b: Teaching with Survey Data
- 1c: Developing research projects using survey data
- 1d: Workshop and presentations for ASSESS (SPSS users in Europe)
- 2: Survey Research Practice
- 2a: Survey Research Methodology, Practice and Training
- 2b: Major survey series
- 3: Subjective Social Indicators (Quality of Life)
- 4: Survey Unit, Social Science Research Council (UK)
- 5a: Polytechnic of North London (1976-1992)
- 5b: Survey Research Unit (1978-1992)
- Village life in Normandy
- Contact
- Origins of the British Crime Survey
- British Crime Survey
USA (Major survey series)
New page 15 November 2013: last updated 23 April 2020]
National Opinion Research Center
(University of Chicago)
General Social Survey
Since 1972, the General Social Survey (GSS) has been monitoring societal change and studying the growing complexity of American society. The GSS aims to gather data on contemporary American society in order to monitor and explain trends and constants in attitudes, behaviors, and attributes; to examine the structure and functioning of society in general as well as the role played by relevant subgroups; to compare the United States to other societies in order to place American society in comparative perspective and develop cross-national models of human society; and to make high-quality data easily accessible to scholars, students, policy makers, and others, with minimal cost and waiting.
The Roper Center is the major repository for data sets from the NORC General Social Survey.
Details of the cumulative file for all years 1972 to 2012 are on General Social Survey, 1972 - 2012
See also:
NORC at the University of Chicago
Commentary on full NORC General Social Survey 2008
Commentary on subset of General Social Survey 2008
. . as used by Sweet & Grace-Martin 2012)
Commentary on GSS 2008 SPSS files for Babbie et al
. . as used by Babbie, Halley, Wagner & Zaino (2013)
Commentary on SPSS files used in Babbie, Wagner and Zaino (2019)
(University of Chicago)
General Social Survey
Since 1972, the General Social Survey (GSS) has been monitoring societal change and studying the growing complexity of American society. The GSS aims to gather data on contemporary American society in order to monitor and explain trends and constants in attitudes, behaviors, and attributes; to examine the structure and functioning of society in general as well as the role played by relevant subgroups; to compare the United States to other societies in order to place American society in comparative perspective and develop cross-national models of human society; and to make high-quality data easily accessible to scholars, students, policy makers, and others, with minimal cost and waiting.
The Roper Center is the major repository for data sets from the NORC General Social Survey.
Details of the cumulative file for all years 1972 to 2012 are on General Social Survey, 1972 - 2012
See also:
NORC at the University of Chicago
Commentary on full NORC General Social Survey 2008
Commentary on subset of General Social Survey 2008
. . as used by Sweet & Grace-Martin 2012)
Commentary on GSS 2008 SPSS files for Babbie et al
. . as used by Babbie, Halley, Wagner & Zaino (2013)
Commentary on SPSS files used in Babbie, Wagner and Zaino (2019)
Survey Research Center
(University of Michigan at Ann Arbor)
The Michigan Census Data Research Center is a joint project of the U.S. Bureau of the Census and the University of Michigan. It enables qualified, confidentiality-abiding researchers with approved projects to access confidential, unpublished Census Bureau data
The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) is a longitudinal panel study that surveys a representative sample of more than 26,000 Americans over the age of 50 every two years.
The Panel Study of Income Dynamics is the longest running longitudinal household survey in the world. The study began in 1968 with a nationally representative sample of over 18,000 individuals living in 5,000 families in the United States. Information on these individuals and their descendants has been collected continuously, including data covering employment, income, wealth, expenditures, health, marriage, childbearing, child development, philanthropy, education, and numerous other topics.
Monitoring the Future (MTF) is an ongoing study of the behaviors, attitudes, and values of American secondary school students, college students, and young adults. Each year, a total of approximately 50,000 8th, 10th and 12th grade students are surveyed (12th graders since 1975, and 8th and 10th graders since 1991). In addition, annual follow-up questionnaires are mailed to a sample of each graduating class for a number of years after their initial participation.
Many SRC projects disseminate public use data through the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR).
(University of Michigan at Ann Arbor)
The Michigan Census Data Research Center is a joint project of the U.S. Bureau of the Census and the University of Michigan. It enables qualified, confidentiality-abiding researchers with approved projects to access confidential, unpublished Census Bureau data
The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) is a longitudinal panel study that surveys a representative sample of more than 26,000 Americans over the age of 50 every two years.
The Panel Study of Income Dynamics is the longest running longitudinal household survey in the world. The study began in 1968 with a nationally representative sample of over 18,000 individuals living in 5,000 families in the United States. Information on these individuals and their descendants has been collected continuously, including data covering employment, income, wealth, expenditures, health, marriage, childbearing, child development, philanthropy, education, and numerous other topics.
Monitoring the Future (MTF) is an ongoing study of the behaviors, attitudes, and values of American secondary school students, college students, and young adults. Each year, a total of approximately 50,000 8th, 10th and 12th grade students are surveyed (12th graders since 1975, and 8th and 10th graders since 1991). In addition, annual follow-up questionnaires are mailed to a sample of each graduating class for a number of years after their initial participation.
Many SRC projects disseminate public use data through the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR).