Wahlstudie 1976 (Panel: Voruntersuchungen, Mai - Juni 1976, August - September 1976; Nachuntersuchung, Oktober - November 1976)

Three-wave panel study on judgment on parties and politicians. Satisfaction with government as well as the existing party system and evaluation of the election campaign. It was attempted to operationalize the individual constructs repeatedly. In the individual waves in large part identical questions were posed. Topics: 1. First pre-election investigation: political interest of respondent; behavior at the polls in the Federal Parliament election1972 and voting intent in the Federal Parliament election 1976; good and bad sides of the parties; expected influence of the election result on the financial situation of respondent; party preference and sympathy scale for the parties, government, opposition and leading politicians; coalition preferences and preferred federal chancellor; political satisfaction and strength of effect; understanding of the terms ´left´ and ´right´; placing the parties and self-assessment on a left-right continuum; evaluation of political terms such as ´right´, ´left´ and ´liberal´; evaluation of the representation of one´s own interests; attitude to direct election of the European Parliament; judgment on the economic situation; most important problems of the Federal Republic; issue competence of the parties; assessment of the standpoints of the parties regarding economic decisions by the state or entrepreneurs, public order vs. personal freedom, social security through personal initiative vs. government supports and the political influence of the churches; personal change in party voted for; expected winner of the Federal Parliament election 1976; attitude to a ´fourth party´; general contentment with life; membership in a trade union; party preference. Demography: age; sex; marital status; religious denomination; religiousness; school education; occupation; employment; professional career; household income; size of household; head of household; housing situation; interest in politics; party inclination; party identification. 2. Second pre-election investigation: economic situation of the Federal Republic; political interest and political participation; behavior at the polls in the Federal Parliament election 1972 and voting intent 1976; use of the terms ´right´ and ´left´; expected influence of the election result on one´s own financial situation; party preference (list procedure and rank order procedure); sympathy scale for the parties, the government, the opposition and selected politicians; coalition preference; attitude to the candidates for chancellor; parties one cannot vote for; necessity for a new party and attitude to a ´fourth party´; characterization of an ideal party; judgment on appropriately filling leading positions; placing the parties on left-right semi-scales; classification of parties and self on a left-right continuum; most important problems of the FRG; issue competence of the parties; evaluation of the election campaign; personal change in party voted for; expected winner of the Federal Parliament election 1976; evaluation of the influence of Strauss; attitude to nuclear power plants; general contentment with life; description of residential area and neighborhood. Demography: age; sex; marital status; religious denomination; religiousness; school education; occupation; employment; household income; size of household; head of household; housing situation; interest in politics; party inclination; party identification; membership. 3. By-election investigation: behavior at the polls in the Federal Parliament elections 1972 and 1976; evaluation of the election and the parties; satisfaction with the election; party preference (rank order procedure); party identification of the neighborhood; sympathy scale for the parties and most important politicians; party one cannot vote for; necessity of a new party; judgment on appropriately filling leading political positions; evaluation of the stability of current party connections; assessment of parties and self on a right-left continuum as well as placing the parties on left-right semi-scales; evaluation of the election campaign and election campaign broadcasts on television; personal election campaign activities; coalition preference in the Saarland and in Lower Saxony; judgment on the claim to government by the CDU/CSU; preferred federal chancellor; attitude to abortion and divorce regulations; judgment on the economic situation of the Federal Republic and economic recovery; elements of a fear of the future; political interest. Demography: age; sex; marital status; religious denomination; religiousness; head of household; party inclination; party identification; membership. Interviewer rating: with each of the three waves the following were estimated: willingness of respondent to cooperate; presence of other persons; number of contact attempts; length of interview; time of day of interview; weekday of interview and date of interview (only in the first and second wave). Also encoded were: identification of interviewer and city code.