​​The GSS gathers data on contemporary American society in order to monitor and explain trends and constants in attitudes, behaviors, and attributes. Hundreds of trends have been tracked since 1972. In addition, since the GSS adopted questions from earlier surveys, trends can be followed for up to 70 years.

The GSS contains a standard core of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Among the topics covered are civil liberties, crime and violence, intergroup tolerance, morality, national spending priorities, psychological well-being, social mobility, and stress and traumatic events.

Altogether the GSS is the single best source for sociological and attitudinal trend data covering the United States. It allows researchers to examine the structure and functioning of society in general as well as the role played by relevant subgroups and to compare the United States to other nations. (Source)

This dataset is a csv version of the Cumulative Data File, a cross-sectional sample of the GSS from 1972-current.

The General Social Surveys (GSS) have been conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) annually since 1972, except for the years 1979, 1981, and 1992 (a supplement was added in 1992), and biennially beginning in 1994. The GSS are designed to be part of a program of social indicator research, replicating questionnaire items and wording in order to facilitate time-trend studies. This data file has all cases and variables asked on the 2018 GSS.

The 2018 cross-sectional General Social Survey has been updated as of June 2024. This release includes additional interview-specific variables and survey weights. Please check the "https://gss.norc.org/" Target="_blank">NORC website for any future updates on this file.

To download syntax files for the GSS that reproduce well-known religious group recodes, including RELTRAD, please visit the "/research/syntax-repository-list" Target="_blank">ARDA's Syntax Repository.

The General Social Surveys (GSS) have been conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) annually since 1972, except for the years 1979, 1981, and 1992 (a supplement was added in 1992), and biennially beginning in 1994. The GSS are designed to be part of a program of social indicator research, replicating questionnaire items and wording in order to facilitate time-trend studies. This data file has all cases and variables asked on the 2022 GSS.

The 2022 cross-sectional General Social Survey has been updated to Release Version 3a as of May 2024. This Release includes the addition of an oversample of minorities (based on the AmeriSpeak® Panel), household composition and respondent selection data, and post-stratified weights for all years of the GSS.

To download syntax files for the GSS that reproduce well-known religious group recodes, including RELTRAD, please visit the "/research/syntax-repository-list" Target="_blank">ARDA's Syntax Repository.

1. The 2018 GSS dataset, which can be downloaded from https://gss.norc.org/get-the-data/stata, should be placed in a directory named "~/Raw_Data" for the code to run. 2. The Stata do.files should be run in order, with user path directories given.

Cumulative data file (1972-200) for the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) General Social Survey (GSS). The data was produced by NORC as part of the National Data Program for the Social Sciences (2000) and distributed by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research. The principal directors were James A. Davis, Tom W. Smith, and Peter V. Marsden. This cumulative file merges all 23 General Social Surveys (1972-1978, 1980, 1982-91, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000) into a single file with each year acting as a subfile. This arrangement of the data facilitates trend analysis on repeated questions over the 28-year period.

The National Data Program for the Social Sciences is designed as a data diffusion project and a program of social indicator research. The data come from the General Social Surveys, interviews administered to NORC national samples using a standard questionnaire. Toward the major goal of functioning as a social indicator program, items which have appeared on previous national surveys starting in 1937 have been replicated here. By retaining the exact wording, we hope to facilitate time trend studies as well as replications of earlier findings. The items appearing on the surveys are one of three types: Permanent questions that occur on each survey, rotating questions that appear on two out of every three surveys (1973, 1974, and 1976, or 1973, 1975, and 1976), and a few occasional questions such as split ballot experiments that occur in a single survey. Starting in 1988, items were no longer rotated across years but appeared on two-thirds of the cases every year.

Replication materials for the manuscript "Skepticism in Science and Punitive Attitudes", published in the Journal of Criminal Justice.Note that the GSS repeated cross sections for 1972 to 2018 are too large to upload here, but they can be accessed from https://gss.norc.org/content/dam/gss/get-the-data/documents/spss/GSS_spss.zipIncluded here are:(A link to the repeated cross-sections data)Each of the 3 wave panels (2006-2010; 2008-2012; 2010-2014)Replication R script for the repeated cross sections cleaning and analysisReplication R script for the panel data cleaning and analysisAn excel spreadsheet with Uniform Crime Report data to merge to the cross sections.

This cumulative data file merges all 24 General Social Surveys (1972-1978, 1980, 1982-91, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002) into a single file with each year or survey acting as a subfile. This arrangement of the data facilitates trend analysis on repeated questions over the 30-year period.

This study utilizes data from the General Social Survey (GSS), a nationally representative, repeated cross-sectional survey administered by NORC at the University of Chicago. The GSS is one of the most authoritative sources of longitudinal public opinion data in the United States, tracking American attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors across a wide range of social, political, and economic domains since 1972.

For the purposes of this analysis, the dataset was restricted to survey waves from 2000 to 2022, to capture contemporary patterns of polarization around economic redistribution and party identity, particularly during the post-9/11 and post-2016 political realignments. Data were accessed and downloaded through the GSS Data Explorer (https://gssdataexplorer.norc.org/), using the platform’s variable filtering and trend tools.

Key variables used in the analysis include:

• Dependent variable: Support for redistribution, measured by agreement with the statement “The government should reduce income differences between the rich and the poor.”

• Independent variables:

  • Party identification (Democrat, Republican, Independent/Other)

  • Racial resentment indicators, including agreement with items such as “Blacks should work their way up without special favors”

  • Year (centered for interaction and trend modeling)

  • Demographic controls: age, gender, income, education, and geographic region

The analytic sample includes respondents with valid responses to all core variables, totaling 5,483 observations after listwise deletion and multiple imputation for missing attitudinal items. All analyses were conducted using R and Python, with appropriate statistical methods for logistic regression, rolling OLS estimation, and interaction modeling. Attempts to estimate a Markov Switching model encountered convergence issues and are excluded from the final analysis.

The GSS sampling design includes multistage area probability sampling and post-stratification weights to ensure representativeness of the U.S. adult population. All interpretations in this study are based on weighted data unless otherwise noted.

This study utilizes data from the General Social Survey (GSS), a nationally representative, repeated cross-sectional survey administered by NORC at the University of Chicago. The GSS is one of the most authoritative sources of longitudinal public opinion data in the United States, tracking American attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors across a wide range of social, political, and economic domains since 1972.

For the purposes of this analysis, the dataset was restricted to survey waves from 2000 to 2022, to capture contemporary patterns of polarization around economic redistribution and party identity, particularly during the post-9/11 and post-2016 political realignments. Data were accessed and downloaded through the GSS Data Explorer (https://gssdataexplorer.norc.org/), using the platform’s variable filtering and trend tools.

Key variables used in the analysis include:

• Dependent variable: Support for redistribution, measured by agreement with the statement “The government should reduce income differences between the rich and the poor.”

• Independent variables:

  • Party identification (Democrat, Republican, Independent/Other)

  • Racial resentment indicators, including agreement with items such as “Blacks should work their way up without special favors”

  • Year (centered for interaction and trend modeling)

  • Demographic controls: age, gender, income, education, and geographic region

The analytic sample includes respondents with valid responses to all core variables, totaling 5,483 observations after listwise deletion and multiple imputation for missing attitudinal items. All analyses were conducted using R and Python, with appropriate statistical methods for logistic regression, rolling OLS estimation, and interaction modeling. Attempts to estimate a Markov Switching model encountered convergence issues and are excluded from the final analysis.

The GSS sampling design includes multistage area probability sampling and post-stratification weights to ensure representativeness of the U.S. adult population. All interpretations in this study are based on weighted data unless otherwise noted.

How to Replicate the Analysis

To replicate the statistical models presented in this study, follow these steps:

1. Upload the Dataset to Google Colab

   • Open Google Colab

   • Create a new notebook

   • Click the folder icon on the left sidebar

   • Upload the Excel file (MAGADATA.xlsx) containing the cleaned General Social Survey (GSS) data used in this study

2. Load the Analysis Code

   • Open the accompanying Word document (MAGACode.docx)

   • Copy the code blocks written in R and Python from the document

   • Paste the code into the Colab notebook code cells

3. Run the Notebook

   • Click the “▶️” (Run) button at the top left of each code cell

   • Ensure all packages load successfully (Colab will install them if not preloaded)

   • Once the notebook runs, it will execute:

     • Logistic regression on redistribution preferences

     • Interaction models between racial resentment and party ID

     • Rolling OLS trend models by year

     • Summary statistics and plots

The Endtime Family, or Children of God, data set is an examination of a religious group that is in high tension with its surrounding environment. This data set assesses the validity of applying survey data techniques to high tension religious groups. Additionally, most of the variables are replications of variables from the "https://gss.norc.org/" Target="_blank">General Social Survey (GSS) and some variables are replications from the "https://issp.org/" Target="_blank">International Social Survey Program, enabling comparisons between the Endtime Family and the general population.

The "https://electionstudies.org/data-center/2020-time-series-study/" Target="_blank">American National Election Studies (ANES) 2020 Time Series Study is a continuation of the series of election studies conducted since 1948 to support analysis of public opinion and voting behavior in U.S. presidential elections. This year's study features re-interviews with "https://electionstudies.org/data-center/2016-time-series-study/" Target="_blank">2016 ANES respondents, a freshly drawn cross-sectional sample, and post-election surveys with respondents from the "https://gss.norc.org/" Target="_blank">General Social Survey (GSS). All respondents were assigned to interview by one of three mode groups - by web, video or telephone. The study has a total of 8,280 pre-election interviews and 7,449 post-election re-interviews.

New content for the 2020 pre-election survey includes variables on sexual harassment and misconduct, health insurance, identity politics, immigration, media trust and misinformation, institutional legitimacy, campaigns, party images, trade tariffs and tax policy.

New content for the 2020 post-election survey includes voting experiences, attitudes toward public health officials and organizations, anti-elitism, faith in experts/science, climate change, gun control, opioids, rural-urban identity, international trade, sexual harassment and #MeToo, transgender military service, perception of foreign countries, group empathy, social media usage, misinformation and personal experiences.

(American National Election Studies. 2021. ANES 2020 Time Series Study Full Release [dataset and documentation]. July 19, 2021 version. "https://electionstudies.org/" Target="_blank">https://electionstudies.org/)

This file differs from the General Social Survey 2010 in that all inapplicable values are set to system missing. The General Social Surveys (GSS) have been conducted by the "https://www.norc.org/Pages/default.aspx" Target="_blank">National Opinion Research Center (NORC) annually since 1972, except for the years 1979, 1981, and 1992 (a supplement was added in 1992), and biennially beginning in 1994. The GSS are designed to be part of a program of social indicator research, replicating questionnaire items and wording in order to facilitate time-trend studies. This data file has all cases and variables asked on the 2010 GSS. There are a total of 4,901 cases in the data set but their initial sampling years vary because the GSS now contains panel cases. Sampling years can be identified with the variable SAMPTYPE.

The 2010 GSS featured special modules on aging, the Internet, shared capitalism, gender roles, intergroup relations, immigration, meeting spouse, knowledge about and attitudes toward science, religious identity, religious trends, genetics, veterans, crime and victimization, social networks and group membership, and sexual behavior (continuing the series started in 1988).

The GSS has switched from a repeating, cross-section design to a combined repeating cross-section and panel-component design. The 2006 GSS was the base year for the first panel. A sub-sample of 2,000 GSS cases from 2006 was selected for reinterview in 2008 and again in 2010 as part of the GSSs in those years. The 2008 GSS consists of a new cross-section plus the reinterviews from 2006. The 2010 GSS consists of a new cross-section of 2,044, the first reinterview wave of the 2,023 2008 panel cases with 1,581 completed cases, and the second and final reinterview of the 2006 panel with 1,276 completed cases. Altogether, the 2010 GSS had 4,901 cases (2,044 in the new 2010 panel, 1,581 in the 2008 panel, and 1,276 in the 2006 panel). The 2010 GSS is the first round to fully implement the new, rolling panel design. In 2012 and later GSSs, there will likewise be a fresh cross-section (wave one of a new panel), wave two panel cases from the immediately preceding GSS, and wave three panel cases from the next earlier GSS.

To download syntax files for the GSS that reproduce well-known religious group recodes, including RELTRAD, please visit the "/research/syntax-repository-list" Target="_blank">ARDA's Syntax Repository.