United States Citizenship, Involvement, Democracy (CID) Survey, 2006

This data collection represents a loose collaboration
between Georgetown University's Center for Democracy and Civil Society
(CDACS) and the European Social Survey (ESS). The data in Part 1 are
from the United States Citizenship, Involvement, Democracy (CID)
Survey, which was conducted between mid-May and mid-July of 2005, and
consists of in-person interviews with a representative sample of 1,001
Americans who responded to an 80-minute questionnaire. The CID survey
is a study of American civic engagement, social capital, and democracy
in comparative perspective, and it provides perspective on citizen
participation in both the public and private realms. The CID survey is
integrated with several elements of a module from the 2002 version of
the ESS, which was administered in 22 European countries. In addition
to the replicated questions from the ESS, the CID survey includes
questions related to the themes of social capital, activities in
formal clubs and organizations, informal social networks and
activities, personal networks (strong and weak ties), the composition
and diversity of ties and associations, trust (in other people, the
community, institutions, and politicians), local democracy and
participation, democratic values, political citizenship, social
citizenship, views on immigration and diversity, political
identification, ideology, mobilization and action, and tolerance
(concerning views and attitudes, least-liked groups, and racial
stereotypes).
In order to facilitate and encourage the common use of several key
variables, and to help individual users to avoid having to create
certain scales and indices, the data in Part 1, Citizenship,
Involvement, Democracy Survey Data (US Only), also include the
following constructed variables: generalized trust, political action,
party identification, participation in voluntary organizations,
citizenship norms, the diversity of social networks, racial
prejudice/negative stereotypes, national pride, attitudes toward
immigrants, and demographic factors.
The data in Part 2, 2002 European Social Survey (ESS) Data
Integrated with US Data, comprise the responses from the 2002 ESS
merged with the responses from the US CID, but only contains the
questions common to both the US CID and the 2002 ESS (without any
constructed variables). The central aim of the ESS is to measure and
explain how people's social values, cultural norms, and behavior
patterns are distributed, the way in which they differ within and
between nations, and the direction and speed at which they are
changing. Data collection for the ESS takes place every two years, by
means of face-to-face interviews of around an hour in duration.
Demographic variables for Part 1 and Part 2 include race, gender,
age, marital status, income, religious preference, and highest level
of education.