Politbarometer 1978 (Cumulated Data Set)

The Politbarometer has been conducted since 1977 on an almost monthly basis by the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen on behalf of the Second German Television (ZDF). Since 1990, this database has also been available for the new German states. The survey focuses on the opinions and attitudes of the voting-age population in the Federal Republic on current political issues, parties, politicians, and voting behavior. From 1990 to 1995 and from 1999 onward, the Politbarometer surveys were conducted separately both in the newly formed eastern and in the western German states (Politbarometer East and Politbarometer West). The separate monthly surveys of a year are integrated into a cumulative data set that includes all surveys of a year and all variables of the respective year. Starting in 2003, the Politbarometer short surveys, collected with varying frequency throughout the year, are integrated into the annual cumulation.<br>Party preference (Sunday question and rank order procedure);
sympathy scale for the parties, government, opposition and selected
federal politicians; union membership; religiousness; party inclination
and party identification; occupational groups in the residential area.
Beyond this common part for all survey months of 1978 the following
additional questions were posed in the individual surveys: change of
one´s own economic situation compared to the previous year; judgement
on current and future economic situation in the country; right persons
in leading positions in the country; satisfaction with democracy;
personal change in party voted for; behavior at the polls in the
Federal Parliament election 1976; necessity of founding a new party for
better representation of one´s own interests and preferred political
orientation of such a party; satisfaction with re-organization of
government; judgement on the parties in the state parliament and
Federal Parliament; judgement on the strength of democracy in the fight
against terrorism; perceived equal opportunities in the country;
significance of the so-called ban on employment of radicals as teachers
and civil servants; attitude to the right to strike and to lock-out;
comparison of the military strength of the East Bloc nations and
western alliance; knowledge about the neutron bomb; attitude to the
neutron bomb; attitude to the First of May; security of retirement
benefits in general as well as one´s own pension; issue competence of
an SPD/FDP government or a CDU/CSU government regarding pensions;
improvement or deterioration of the relationship FRG/GDR; judgement on
the behavior of the Federal Government in negotiations with the GDR;
influence of the visit of state of Brezhnev on German-Soviet relations;
approval of an extension of the CSU to the entire Federal Republic;
voting for the CSU, were it to expand into one´s state; party
preference regarding the two Union parties; preferred candidate for
chancellor of the CDU/CSU; expected winner of the metropolitan council
election in Hamburg (state parliament election) or the state parliament
election in Lower Saxony; influence of the Hamburg or Lower Saxony
election result on the SPD/FDP coalition in Bonn; expected winner of
the state parliament elections in Hesse and Bavaria; attitude to the
absence of the FDP in the Hamburg or Lower Saxony state parliament;
reasons for the election defeat of the FDP; preference for a statement
of willingness to form a coalition by the FDP before the state
parliament elections; judgement on the election result of the GLU
(Party of Environmental Protectors); eligibility of the GLU and a tax
party; perceived equity of the tax system; attitude to resignation of
the Baden-Wuerttemberg Prime Minister, Filbinger; judgement on the
development of unemployment, price stability, securing of pensions, the
fight against terrorists and environmental protection; approval of
Sundays without automobile traffic to relieve the environment;
judgement on the effectiveness of Sundays without automobile traffic;
preference for dialect or High German in daily life; knowledge about
the ZDF {Second German Television Network} broadcast ´Laenderspiegel´
{Mirror on the States} and frequency of watching it; preference for the
designation ´Laenderjournal´ {Journal of the States} instead of
´Laenderspiegel´; attitude to rapid publication of election results;
falling asleep while watching television; satisfaction with television
in the FRG; adequate consideration of viewer wishes; preference for
more information broadcasts or more entertainment broadcasts;
satisfaction with duration of broadcasting; time preference for
additional broadcasting; preference for a third nation-wide television
station; frequency of personal use of television; attitude to
participation of Beckenbauer in a soccer world championship; expected
world soccer champion and placing of the German team; expected German
soccer champion; time of purchase of Christmas presents.

Also encoded was: administrative district; city size; date of
interview.