The Political Action Panel Study

Follow-up survey of a study from the early 70´s on structures and
determinants of political ideology in three industrial countries.

Topics: assessment of current, earlier and future material standard of
living; contentment with life; personal problems in daily life and
greatest current problem; personal ability to solve problems;
organization, government institutions or parties as perceived solution
authorities; political interest; perception of over- or underprivileged
groups; attitude to the fight against terrorism at the cost of
individual freedom, to nuclear energy, social equality, social equal
status for the sexes, extension of the government sphere of influence
in economy and society, abortion and environmental protection; attitude
to change of society; readiness for political activities at local and
national level (Almond-Verba activity index); self-assessment on a
left-right continuum; left-right understanding; postmaterialism (two
index versions); evaluation of government task fulfillment in the areas
of care for old people, equal rights, job market policies, instruction,
medical care, housing policies, environmental protection, the fight
against crime, policies on minorities, balance of social inequality,
fighting inflation and provision of energy; classification of the
importance of these problems; good and bad sides of the parties;
sympathy scale for social groupings, organizations and parties as well
as for the political system; attitude to the current government and the
political system; attitude to selected political forms of protest;
political participation; point in time, goals and initiator of the
protest; attitude to government repression against protest measures;
party identification; behavior at the polls in the last and voting
intent in the coming national election; extent, point in time, goals
and initiator of personal political activities; assessment of political
effectiveness and feeling of political representation; attitude to
youth protest; influence on the government through interests of the
powerful; trust in the government; month and year of birth; description
of financial and family situation in parental home during personal
childhood and youth; social origins; party preference of parents;
assessment of personal social class; superior function at work;
unemployment and assessment of personal job security; union membership
and participation in trade union meetings; memberships.

Demography: age; sex; marital status; religiousness; frequency of
church attendance; employment; income; household income; household
size; respondent is head of household; party preference; voting
behavior at the last election; degree of urbanization;

Interviewer rating: assessment of ethnic group affiliation; presence
of third persons during interview and frequency of intervention in the
interview; willingness and reliability of respondent; building type;
date of interview; length of interview; interviewer identification;
city size.

Indices: conventional political participation; protest readiness and
protest activities; protest potential; repression potential; typology
of political participation and political activity; ideological
thinking; left-right understanding; level of ideological
conceptionalization; postmaterialism index; political efficiency;
political trust; readiness to react to the system; left-right behavior
at the polls; left-right party preference; election and party
preference for government or opposition party; party identification;
expectations of the youth; dimension of party orientation and social
orientation; perception of group privileges; education.