URL: http://ssdc.ucsd.edu/ssdc/cal00003.html
TITLE: Field (California) Poll, 1956 - latest release
STUDY DESCRIPTION: The Field (California) Poll was founded in 1947 by Mervin Field and has operated continuously as a California statewide survey of opinions and attitudes on social and political issues. Through its regularly scheduled surveys The Field Poll tracks voter preferences in all major statewide candidate and proposition election contests, assesses California public opinion about elected officials and major issues facing the state, obtains reaction to political and social developments, and covers topical news stories of general public interest. Selected surveys and questions are repeated over time so changes in public opinion can be monitored.
The Field Poll derives its principal continuing financial support from the state's
leading newspapers and TV stations, who purchase the rights of first release to all
Field Poll reports in their primary viewer and readership markets. The Poll also
obtains funds from many of California's academic institutions, which are members of
an Academic Consortium, as well as from foundations, non-profit organizations, state
agencies and others as part of its Policy Research Sponsors. The UCSD data collection
consists of surveys conducted regularly since 1956.
- DATA TYPE = numerical survey data
- UNIVERSE = California registered voters
- SAMPLING
= Samples of the California telephone household population drawing from Random
Digit Dial (RDD) samples
- DATE OF COLLECTION = 1956 - latest release
EXTENT OF COLLECTION: Documentation + SPSS syntax files + Data files
- CODEBOOKS: All Field Polls are documented by
printed codebooks.
ASCII text or Portable Document File (PDF) codebooks are available starting
with 1979, no.2 (7902). The codebooks contain background information pertaining
to sample design, interviewing procedures, sample weighting, sampling error,
occupation codings and data processing. All data file formats, survey questions,
response codes, variable record locations, names, values, labels and frequency
distributions are included in these codebooks.
- SDA DATA DESCRIPTION LANGUAGE FILE: Beginning with 2004, no.1
Data Description Language (DDL) for Survey Documentation and Analysis Software (SDA)
files are available. These ASCII files include all of the variable information
previously available in codebooks. These files are appended to codebooks by
SSDC staff.
- SEARCH CODEBOOKS: You can search Field Polls
machine-readable codebooks (1979, no.2 - latest release) by keyword, phrase or poll
number and retrieve a list of poll variables (questions) that match your search criteria.
Search retrievals contain the following information.
- Poll number and date of poll.
- Number of respondents and number of records for each respondent.
- Question number and text of question.
- Variable name and label.
- Variable response values and response labels.
- Frequencies (a total count of respondents) for all variables and
response values. This information is excluded by the Field Research
Corp. beginning with 2004, no.1.
- SPSS SYNTAX FILES: These data file statements (beginning with 1979, no.2)
are ASCII text files. Users can edit these files to suite their specific requirements
and are advised to check the statements to make sure that they are compatible with
their software installations.
- DATA FILES: Beginning with 1996, no. 5 data file records (cards)
are not padded to 80 characters. All data files are available in ASCII format. Beginning
with 2000, no.2 most data files are available in SPSS .SAV format.
- FILE FORMAT = ASCII
- NUMBER OF CASES = Varies, see codebooks
- CARDS PER CASE= Varies, see codebooks
- RECORD DELIMITER = Line Feed
- RECORD LENGTH = 81 max (includes line feed character)
RELATED PUBLICATIONS: The following publications summarize the contents of
California Poll surveys, provide information about the technical characteristics of polls
and will help you locate polls, survey topics, questions and data files. You can use the
survey dates or California Poll numbers included in these publications to locate codebooks
and data files.
- AMERICAN PUBLIC OPINION
INDEX (CUL Ref, HM 261z A463) - You can use this annual index to
locate a particular California Poll which asked a particular question.
The APOI is an index to all questions asked in many national, state and
local opinion polls including the California Poll. Citations in the
American Public Opinion Index to the California Poll are labeled FIELD
(for the Field Institute which conducts the poll) and include the poll
survey date.
- CALIFORNIA OPINION INDEX
(CUL Ref HM 261 C26) - If you would like summary information about a
particular California Poll you can use this printed digest of California
public opinion. Each issue highlights a survey subject and includes
background information and findings in brief. Browse the title index in
the front of the issues to find out which survey subjects are included
in the California Opinion Index. Look at "the findings in this report
came from..." paragraph at the end of each issue to get the California
Poll survey date.
- THE CALIFORNIA POLL
(CUL Ref HM 261 C262) - You can use these printed news releases as a
current awareness resource for California public opinion. Each issue
extracts selected survey questions and respondents' answers from a
particular California Poll and summarizes the results as a "topic". The
last few pages of each issue lists the questions extracted from the poll
and gives you the poll survey date. The CALIFORNIA POLL is continued by the
THE FIELD POLL
-
FIELD POLL ARCHIVES - Archives of CALIFORNIA OPINION INDEX and THE
FIELD POLL in Portable Document Format from the Field Research Corporation
(1993 - latest releases).
RELATED WEB SITE: The UC Data Archive at Berkeley maintains a
public directory of Field Polls.
RESTRICTIONS: California Poll data used in published works or any form of public
dissemination must include the following disclaimer: "Data for this study, originally
collected by the Field Research Corporation, were provided by the University of
California, Berkeley Data Archive. The Archive is not responsible for the analysis and
interpretation of the data appearing here."
BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION: The Field Institute, Field (California) Polls.
[machine-readable data files] San Francisco, CA: The Field Institute [producer].
Berkeley, CA: University of California Data Archive [distributor].
