A user's approach to Harris public opinion survey data

Abstract

For the social scientist, public opinion polls provide a rich source of data for secondary analysis. In recent years, researchers have focused on the development of social indicators in order to assess trends and the shifting concerns of the American electorate. The frequency with which public opinion polls are conducted, and the fact that many questions are repeated in different polls, make these data especially well-suited for analysis of social change. A large archival collection of public opinion data allows the social scientist to examine such explosive issues as racial tensions, abortions and gun control over many different points in time. This paper provides the reader with an overview of one such collection of public opinion—data collected for the last twenty years by Louis Harris and Associates. These data have been archived as a special collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A user's approach to accessing Harris data is emphasized including appropriate finding aids, newly compiled automated question retrieval system, cost and a choice of data formats for use with statistical programs.