DOI: 10.3886/icpsr26824.v1
title: CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #3, October 2008
title: Version 1

description: This poll, fielded October 17-19, 2008, is a part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. This poll interviewed 1,152 adults nationwide, including 1,046 registered voters, about the way George W. Bush was handling the presidency, whether the country was moving in the right direction, and the condition of the national economy. Registered voters were asked how much attention they were paying to the 2008 presidential campaign, whether they had voted in a presidential primary or caucus that year, the likelihood that they would vote in the general election, and whether they planned to vote in person on election day, by mail or absentee ballot, or at an early voting location. Views were sought on presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain, the spouses of the presidential candidates, Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain, vice-presidential candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin, and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. Respondents were asked which presidential candidate they would vote for if the general election were held that day, which candidate they expected to win, and whether they knew anyone who supported or opposed Obama because of his race. Those who had already voted were asked which presidential candidate they had voted for. A series of questions asked for opinions of the Democratic and Republican parties, how well the United States Congress and the respondent's own representative were doing their jobs, and whether they would vote for the Democratic or Republican candidate from their district if the United States House of Representatives election were held that day. Additional topics addressed the economic bailout plan, personal finances, temporary tax cuts passed in 2001, and whether income taxes should be raised on households making over $250,000 a year to pay for health insurance for those without it. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, education level, marital status, household income, perceived social class, political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration status and participation history, military service, religious preference, frequency of religious attendance, whether respondents considered themselves to be a born-again Christian, and whether a child under 18 years of age was living in the household.
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 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 #3, October 2008
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.Responses in the variable Q96 (ZIP Code) were blanked to protect respondent confidentiality.A truncated value label in variable EDUC was corrected.This data collection was produced by CBS News, New York, NY.