Australian Election Study, 1987

The study has two goals. The first is to continue the broad line of enquiry established by the 1967 and 1979 Australian National Political Attitudes surveys so that patterns of stability and change in the political attitudes and behaviour of the Australian electorate can be traced over two decades. The second is to assess the electoral impact of forces specific to this election in order better to understand its outcome. Respondents were asked which party they voted for in the 1987 and 1984 Federal elections; when they had decided how to vote and whether they might have changed their vote; party identification; interest in politics; the importance of a number of issues and the media in deciding their vote; left-right positions for their own views and those of the major parties in the 1987 and 1984 elections; feelings about the party leaders indicated by ratings from 0 to 10, their qualities and effectiveness as prime minister. A section on election issues covered perceptions of Australia's current economic situation and the extent of the effect of government policies on the economy; government spending; privatisation; the role of trade unions and big business; uranium mining; law and order; Asian migration; marijuana; abortion; aborigines; testing for AIDS; censorship; homosexuality; opportunities for women. Other questions examined trust in government; political goals; and forms of political action. Background information included level of schooling; highest level of qualification; current activity; occupation; employment sector; supervision; union membership; self assessed social class; sex; age; length of current residence; country of birth of self and parents; year arrived in Australia; father's occupation; parents' schooling and political preference; marital status; number of children; partner's schooling, occupation, employment sector, supervision, union membership and political preference; religion and attendance at religious services.