The General Social Survey began in the 1970s and continues to be a wonderful source for public opinion data. Many social scientists rely on the GSS for data. For this assignment explore the GSS and as

The General Social Survey began in the 1970s and continues to be a wonderful source for public opinion data. Many social scientists rely on the GSS for data. For this assignment explore the GSS and assess the design of a particular question that they ask.

Visit the following url: https://gssdataexplorer.norc.org (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Explore the website, create an account, and take a look at some of the data available on the site. 

Once you become familiar with the website, go to the VARIABLE SEARCH PAGE and browse a variable of interest to you. You might consider searching for a subject relevant to your topic for your research proposal. Enter a KEYWORD on the left side of the screen or CHOOSE SUBJECTSby topic under the FILTER BY SUBJECT OPTION.

Pick one question and assess its design. Watch out – some people become addicted to searching on the GSS! 

Write a one-page (double-spaced, 12 point font, one inch margin) essay assessing the design of the survey question that you selected. Be sure to consider the tips from the reading by Besen-Cassino and Cassino and even considerations of bias raised by Sampson. (Be sure to cite at least one reading for full credit)

For example, I am interested in drinking behavior, so I chose the variable DRINKING.

I selected the variable hitdrunk and viewed the question and responses for it:

Survey QuestionsQuestions associated with this variable:

Are there any situations that you can imagine in which you would approve of a man punching an adult male stranger? B. Was drunk and bumped into the man and his wife on the street?

Babbie stresses the need for clear and relevant questions. I might edit the length and wording of the prompt. I also might reword “man and his wife” to reflect coupling trends in 2016. I would also address response options in my paper and consider Fowler and Fowler’s suggestions.

Grading Rubric:

  1. 10 points for successful navigation of the GSS website/Inclusion of one question w/response options from the GSS
  2. 10  points for your assessment of the question and response options
  3. 5 points for 1 reference to the course readings for this week (Besen-Cassino and Cassino or Sampson)

        Total 25 Points Possible