DOI: 10.3886/icpsr31573
title: CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #2, May 2010
title: Archival Version

description: This poll, fielded May 20-24, 2010, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicits public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way Barack Obama was handling his job as president, whether things in the United States were going in the right direction, and how they would rate the condition of the national economy. Respondents were also asked what they thought was the most important problem facing the United States today, whether they approved or disapproved of the way President Obama was handling the economy, the situation with Afghanistan, health care, and the threat of terrorism. They were also asked whether they approved of the way Congress was handling its job, whether most members of Congress have done a good enough job to deserve re-election, and whether they felt the economy is getting better or worse. They were also queried on their feelings for the Democratic and Republican parties, about the way things are going in Washington, DC, how important they thought it was for there to be another woman on the Supreme Court, and their opinion of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. Respondents were asked how serious a problem they thought illegal immigration was, whether they thought the Arizona documentation policy went too far in dealing with illegal immigration, whether the federal government should have provided financial help to United States homeowners who were having trouble repaying their mortgages, whether the federal government should have provided financial help to United States automakers who were in financial trouble, and whether the federal government should have provided financial help to United States banks and financial institutions who were in financial trouble. Respondents were asked about the new health care reform bill and whether they approved it, and whether this new reform bill will mostly help, hurt, or not affect them. They were also queried on whether they favored increased drilling for oil and natural gas off the coast of the United States, whether they approved of the way the Obama Administration was handling the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and whether they approved the way BP was handling the same oil spill. They were asked to rate their family financial situation, how concerned they were about making ends meet financially in the next 12 months, how concerned they were in the next 12 months they or someone in their household might be out of work, how much the economic recession affected them and their family, and whether the economic recession affected plans for their children's future. They were also asked their opinion of the Tea Party movement and whether they considered themselves to be a supporter of the Tea Party movement. They were also asked whether they thought being gay or homosexual was a choice, whether same-sex relations between consenting adults is wrong, whether it is necessary to have laws to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination in housing and employment, and whether they personally know someone who is gay or lesbian. Demographic information includes sex, age, race, education level, household income, military service, religious preference, reported social class, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration status, and whether respondents thought of themselves as born again Christians.
description: The data contain weight variables that should be used in analyzing the data. According to the CBS News Web site, the data were weighted to match United States Census Bureau breakdowns on age, sex, race, education, and region of the country. The data were also adjusted for the fact that people who share a telephone with others have less chance to be contacted than people who live alone and have their own telephones, and that households with more than one telephone number have more chances to be called than households with only one telephone number.
description: A variation of random-digit dialing (RDD) using primary sampling units (PSUs) was employed, consisting of blocks of 100 telephone numbers identical through the eighth digit and stratified by geographic region, area code, and size of place. Phone numbers were dialed from RDD samples of both standard land-lines and cell phones. Within households, respondents were selected using a method developed by Leslie Kish and modified by Charles Backstrom and Gerald Hursh (see Backstrom and Hursh, SURVEY RESEARCH. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1963).
description: Datasets: DS1: CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #2, May 2010
description: Persons aged 18 years and over living in households with telephones in the United States.
description: telephone interviewThe data available for download are not weighted and users will need to weight the data prior to analysis.The CASEID variable was reformatted in order to make it a unique identifier.Truncated value label in variable EDUC was corrected.This data collection was produced by CBS News, New York, NY.Variables Q6, Q28, and Q74 contain unknown codes.