Each NAES08-Online respondent was interviewed for at least one of the five main NAES interviewing waves:

• Wave 1 — pre-primary: Interviews conducted starting October 2, 2007, through January 1, 2008; 19,190 respondents participated in this wave
• Wave 2 — primaries: Interviews conducted January 1, 2008, through March 31, 2008; n = 17,747
• Wave 3 — spring and summer 2008: Interviews conducted April 2, 2008, through August 29, 2008; n = 20,052
• Wave 4 — general election: Interviews conducted August 29, 2008, through November 4, 2008; n = 19,241
• Wave 5 — post-election: Interviews conducted November 5, 2008, through January 31, 2009; n = 19,234

In total, 28,985 respondents were interviewed for one or more main NAES interviewing waves.

NAES08-Online respondents were also interviewed for up to two profile waves:

• Wave A — core panel profile: A required interview designed by Knowledge Networks measuring core demographic variables; all respondents participated in this wave (n = 28,985)
• Wave B — public affairs profile: An optional interview designed by Knowledge Networks measuring general public affairs and additional demographic variables; 26,159 NAES08-Online respondents participated in this wave

• The main NAES waves, Waves 1 – 5, were conducted in chronological order, as indicated by the dates above.
• Knowledge Networks administered the core panel profile, Wave A, when a respondent joined KnowledgePanel, and re-administered the profile to each respondent annually. The data provided for Wave A represent the core panel profile completed most recently before the respondent's first interview for an NAES wave (that is, within one year before the respondent's first interview for an NAES wave).
• The interview for Wave B, the public affairs profile, was typically conducted before a respondent's first NAES interview, but not always.

Variable DATE indicates the interviewing dates for the main NAES and public affairs profile wave(s) in which a respondent participated.

The NAES08-Online variable catalog lists all of the variables measured for the survey.

Variable catalog sections: The variable catalog includes two main sections:

• The variable directory provides the names and titles of variables and the interviewing waves and dates for which variables were measured.
• The variable directory links to the detailed variable listing, which provides full information about variables, including question wording, response and other value options, and filters.

Subject categories: The variable catalog is grouped and ordered by subject categories. The order of variables in the catalog does not necessarily reflect the order in which questions were asked in interviews (see below).

The NAES08-Online data files are provided in multiple configurations. Both SPSS (.sav) and plain text tab-delimited (.txt) formats are provided.

In the data files, each case/row represents a unique respondent, and each column corresponds with a variable for a particular wave. Data columns are named based on the variables and waves they represent (see below).

Optional sample weights are provided and can be added to the data files; see the methodology for information about weights.

Some variables were measured for all interviewing waves and dates, while others were measured for subsets of waves and/or interviewing dates.

Schedule notation in the variable directory: The variable directory provides an overview of the schedule for each variable, as in the following examples:

CA02

Most important issue

 

2

3

4

 

 

B

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WA03

Education

 

 

 

 

 

A

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• The variable schedule is shown graphically to the right.
• In the schedule area, the schedules for NAES Waves 1 – 5 are shown first, followed by the schedules for profile Waves A and B.
• A dark gray bar indicates that the variable was measured for the full wave; a light gray bar indicates that the variable was measured for a subset of interviewing dates. The absence of a bar indicates that the variable was not measured for a wave.

Schedule notation in the detailed variable listing: The detailed variable listing provides the exact schedule for each variable, as in the following example:

 

Wave 2

Wave 3

Wave 4

 

 

B

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All dates

6/11/08 – 8/29/08

All dates

 

 

 

For Waves 1 – 5, the size and position of schedule bars approximate the proportion of the wave field period for which the variable was measured.

The detailed variable listing provides the wording of questions asked on the survey.

Variation by interviewing date: While the survey was in progress, some questions were adjusted as campaign periods or events passed. These adjustments are indicated in the question text, with the dates of adjustment specified in braces (example: variable REa01).

The detailed variable listing enumerates the response and other value options recorded for each variable.

Response option display: The detailed variable listing indicates how response options were displayed to the respondent. In most cases, response options were displayed as option lists; in some cases, alternative input formats such as horizontal sliders were used (example: variable AAm05).

Whenever meaningful, response options were displayed in random order (see below).

Multiple-answer questions: Some variables represent questions that can have multiple answers. This is indicated in the detailed variable listing by "multiple answers accepted" (example: KC01).

Verbatim data: In some cases, respondents' verbatim answers were recorded. The detailed variable listing identifies variables with verbatim answers (example: RCb05).

Some variables have filters, meaning they were measured only for respondents who answered questions in particular ways or met other non-random criteria such as residency in a particular state. The detailed variable listing identifies variables with filters and describes the filter criteria (example: variable EB02).

Variation by interviewing date: The detailed variable listing indicates filters that changed as the survey was in progress and/or were not in effect for the full interviewing schedule (example: RCa02).

A single variable in the variable catalog may have multiple corresponding data columns in the data files:

Multi-wave variables: If a variable was measured for multiple waves, each wave's data are provided in separate columns. Data columns are named based on the name of the corresponding variable in the variable catalog, plus a suffix that indicates the interviewing wave:

• _1 — Wave 1 (pre-primary)
• _2 — Wave 2 (primaries)
• _3 — Wave 3 (spring and summer 2008)
• _4 — Wave 4 (general election)
• _5 — Wave 5 (post-election)
• _a — Wave A (core panel profile)
• _b — Wave B (public affairs profile)

Variable RKEY, which uniquely identifies respondents across interviewing waves, has no suffix.

Variable format:

• Single coded data: Each variable that is a single-answer question or records an observation is represented in the data files by a single numeric-code data column for each wave that the variable was measured (example: variable ABo02).
• Multi-part coded data: Variables that are multiple-answer questions are represented in the data files by a separate numeric-code data column for each possible answer for each wave. The detailed variable listing enumerates the names of the data columns corresponding with each answer, and the numeric codes used to indicate if each answer was or was not specified (example: variable KC01).
• Verbatim data: Verbatim answers are recorded in alphanumeric data columns. The detailed variable listing indicates the numeric codes in the main variable data columns that correspond with verbatim answers (example: RCb05). Some multiple-answer questions have verbatim data (example: ABc03).

Null values: If a variable was not measured for a respondent because of scheduling or a filter, the corresponding numeric data column or columns have null (SPSS system-missing) values.

The questionnaires provide the interviewing scripts displayed to respondents. Questions are numbered sequentially, which indicates the order in which they were asked (not including any randomization; see below).

Grid-format questions: In some cases, questions with similar wording were asked in a grid format. Grid-format questions are indicated in the questionnaire with tree lines. The common wording is provided at the top of the tree, and branching lines identify wording specific to each question (example: questions Q102_1 — Q105_1).

Order randomization: Whenever meaningful, the following question randomizations were applied in an effort to reduce response-set bias:

• Adjacent similar questions, including grid-format questions, were displayed in random order (example: questions Q1_1 through Q6_1 were randomized).
• Categorical response options, including names of candidates, were displayed in random order.
• The direction in which qualitative (but not quantitative) rating scales were displayed was randomized.