Details

Related name

• Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [Browse]
• Washington Post Company [Browse]

Series

• ABC News/Washington Post poll series [More in this series]
• ICPSR (Series) ; 3833. [More in this series]
• ICPSR ; 3833

Restrictions note

Use of these data is restricted to Princeton University students, faculty, and staff for non-commercial statistical analysis and research purposes only.

Summary note

For this poll, fielded on January 3-4, 1995, respondents were asked to rate President Clinton's handling of the country in general, the economy, and foreign affairs. It was also intended to gauge the public's knowledge of the "Contract with America," a nationwide Republican initiative to gain a majority in Congress in which they laid out a specific action plan in the Senatorial and Representative campaigns of Republicans throughout the United States. Other approval rating questions sought opinions on Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole. Respondents were queried on whether they trusted President Clinton or the Republicans in Congress to provide strong leadership and handle issues such as Social Security and reduce the federal budget deficit. Those surveyed were asked if the switch from Democratic control of the Congress to Republican control was a good thing, and if the respondents had any idea how Clinton or the Republicans planned to lead the nation in the next two years. Questions included who the respondents would vote for if the 1996 election were to occur that day. Items regarding the budget included whether respondents would support an amendment to the Constitution requiring the federal budget to be balanced and under what circumstances they would support such an amendment, such as cutting spending on certain programs or raising taxes. Opinions were gathered on a range of social issues including prayer in schools, the death penalty, and welfare. Respondents were asked how often they watched daytime talk shows and whether they were more interested in the new session of Congress or the O.J. Simpson trial. Respondents were also asked to gauge if the economy or the standard of living was improving and to speculate how economically hard-off their parents were or their children would be. Demographic information includes party identification, voter registration status, voting record, political philosophy, level of education, birth date, ethnicity, total yearly income, and sex.

Notes

• Codebook available in print and electronic format.
• Title from title screen (viewed on August 22, 2006).

Type of data

Extent of collection: 1 data file + machine-readable documentation (PDF).

Time and place of event

• Date(s) of collection: January 3, 1995-January 4, 1995.
• Time period: January 1995.

Geographic coverage

Geographic coverage: United States.

System details

• Mode of access: World Wide Web.
• Data format: card image.
• Extent of processing: REFORM.DOC/ REFORM.DATA.

Methodology note

• Data source: telephone interviews.
• Sample: households were selected by random-digit dialing. Within households, the respondent selected was the adult living in the household who last had a birthday and who was home at the time of the interview.
• Universe: persons aged 18 and over living in households with telephones in the contiguous 48 United States.

Rights and reproductions note

Restrictions: this data collection may not be used for any purpose other than statistical reporting and analysis. Use of these data to learn the identity of any person or establishment is prohibited.

Cite as

ABC News/The Washington Post. ABC NEWS/WASHINGTON POST CONTRACT WITH AMERICA POLL, JANUARY 1995 [Computer file]. ICPSR version. Radnor, PA: Chilton Research Services [producer], 1995. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2006-11-30.

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