ALLBUS/GGSS 1996 (Allgemeine Bevölkerungsumfrage der Sozialwissenschaften/German General Social Survey 1996)

ALLBUS (GGSS - the German General Social Survey) is a biennial trend survey based on random samples of the German population. Established in 1980, its mission is to monitor attitudes, behavior, and social change in Germany. Each ALLBUS cross-sectional survey consists of one or two main question modules covering changing topics, a range of supplementary questions and a core module providing detailed demographic information. Additionally, data on the interview and the interviewers are provided as well. Key topics generally follow a 10-year replication cycle, many individual indicators and item batteries are replicated at shorter intervals.

Since the mid-1980ies ALLBUS also regularly hosts one or two modules of the ISSP (International Social Survey Programme).

The main topic of ALLBUS/GGSS 1996 is attitudes towards different ethnic groups in Germany (with questions on the perception of ethnic groups, social distance, prejudicial attitudes, and potential determinants of such attitudes). Other topics include attitudes toward family, marriage and partnership, national pride, trust (in fellow citizens and politicians), and attitudes towards abortion. Additionally included is the ISSP module "Role of Government III."<br>1.) Attitudes towards ethnic groups in Germany and to
migration: perceived consequences of presence of foreigners in Germany;
attitude towards the influx of eastern European ethnic Germans, asylum
seekers, labor from EC or non-EC countries; ranking in terms of
importance of different citizenship requirements; perception and
evaluation of discriminatory behavior towards foreigners; opinion on
dual citizenship and on equality under the law for foreigners;
indicators for social distance to ethnic minorities and foreigners;
perceived differences in lifestyle; items on anti-Semitism; support for
the teaching of Islam in public schools; estimation of proportion of
foreigners in East and West Germany; percentage of foreigners in local
county (Kreis).

2.) Nationality and country of origin: first, second, and third
citizenship of respondent and spouse or partner; original citizenship
of respondent and of spouse or partner; country of origin of respondent
and of respondent´s parents and grandparents; length of stay in
Germany.

3.) Attitudes towards marriage, family, and partnership: family as a
prerequisite for happiness; marriage in case of steady partnership;
attitudes towards the role of women in the family; relative importance
of selected educational goals for a child.

4.) Other topics: attitudes towards abortion; general trust in fellow
men and politicians; social pessimism and orientation towards the
future (anomia); reasons for being proud to be a German;
authoritarianism; self-assessment of social class; fair share in the
standard of living; political interest; questions on postmaterialism
(importance of law and order, fighting rising prices, free expression
of opinions, and influence on governmental decisions); self-placement
on a left-right continuum; assessment of economic situations; recall of
past vote in federal elections; reasons for non-voting; fear of
unemployment or loss of business.

5.) ALLBUS-Demography: Details about the respondent: gender; month and
year of birth, age; geographical origin and citizenship; place of
residence (federal state, administrative region, size of municipality,
BIK-type of municipality) and length of residence; religious
denomination, frequency of church attendance; voting intention
(Sonntagsfrage); vote in last election; general education, vocational
training; employment status; details about current occupation,
affiliation to public service, supervisory functions; length of
unemployment; date of termination of full- or part-time employment;
details about former occupation; respondent´s income; marital status.
Details about respondent´s current spouse: general education,
vocational training; employment status; details about current
occupation; current and former citizenships. Details about respondent´s
steady extra-marital partner: common household; month and year of
birth, age; geographical origin and citizenship; general education,
vocational training; employment status; details about current
occupation. Details about respondent´s parents: parent´s and
grandparent´s country of origin; general education of father and
mother; father´s occupation. Composition of household: size of
household; household income; type of dwelling; telephone. Details about
household members: relation to respondent; gender; month and year of
birth, age; marital status. Respondent´s current memberships (Deutscher
Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB, blue-collar union), Deutsche
Angestelltengewerkschaft (DAG, white-collar union), other trade union,
political party).

6.) Data on the interview (paradata): date of interview; time and length of
interview; presence of other people during the interview; respondent´s
willingness to answer questions; evaluation of reliability of
respondent answers; gender, age, and general education of the
interviewer.

7.) Role of government III (ISSP): attitudes towards the observance of
laws; attitudes towards different forms of protest against the
government; willingness to participate and actual participation in
public protest activities or demonstrations against the government;
opinions on freedom of speech for extremists; attitude towards a
miscarriage of justice; perceived threats in the private life through
governmental data collections and computer networks; assessment of
social responsibility of the state in relation to job creation and just
distribution of incomes; attitudes towards economically oriented
government measures; attitudes towards an increase of expenditures of
the government for environmental protection, health service, police,
the educational system, defense, pensions, unemployment benefit,
culture; assessment of the power of the trade unions, private
enterprise and the state; assessment of state responsibility for
socio-political tasks (social support for the elderly, students,
housing provision, job creation; economic growth through assistance to
industry, price stability, etc.); political interest; overall attitude
towards politics and the political system (subjective assessment of
political influence (political efficacy), level of political awareness,
politicians and election promises); lower taxes vs. more extensive
social services; assessment of fairness of tax levels for different
income groups; attitudes towards privatization or nationalization of
selected public institutions; preferences for enactment of
environmental regulations by the Federal parliament or the EU.

8.) Added value: Inglehart-index; family typology, classification
of private households (according to Porst and Funk); International
Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO 1968, 1988); class
position (according to Goldthorpe); occupational prestige (according to
Treiman); magnitude prestige (according to Wegener); occupational
meta-classification (according to Terwey); weights.