National Survey of Black Americans, 1979-1980

The purpose of this study was to provide an appropriate theoretical and empirical approach to concepts, measures, and methods in the study of black Americans. The questionnaire was developed over two years with input from social scientists, students, and a national advisory panel of black scholars. The final instrument is comprehensive, encompassing several broad areas related to black American life. The study explores neighborhood-community integration, services, crime and community contact, the role of religion and the church, physical and mental health, and self-esteem. It examines employment, the effects of chronic unemployment, the effects of race on the job, and interaction with family and friends. The survey includes questions about racial attitudes, race identity, group stereotypes, and race ideology. Demographic variables include education, income, occupation, and political behavior and affiliation. The sample includes 2,107 black United States citizens, 18 years of age or older. A national multistage probability sample was selected. Therefore, the sample is self-weighting and every black American household in the continental United States had an equal probability of being selected. The Murray Research Archive has available numeric file data from the study. A subset of numeric file data comprised of 500 respondents and 152 variables created specifically for use in research methodology and statistics courses is also available. Additional waves of data for this study have been collected and are available through ICPSR.