DOI: 10.7280/d13w2z
title: Annual Survey of Orange County 1985

description: The Orange County Annual Survey is in its fourth year. The 1985 survey
 represents the first as a university-based research program with all its
 funding from external sources. It aims (1) to provide decision makers in
 the private and public sectors with valid and current information on
 Orange County residents; (2) to track shifts in important attitudes and
 population characteristics over time; (3) to study the social, economic,
 and political issues of Orange County from a nonadvocacy position; and (4)
 to help establish public discussion and enlightened debate in future
 public policy. The theme of this year's survey is "Orange County
 at Mid-Decade." The 1985 survey continues the analysis of attitudes
 on national issues by considering views towards social welfare spending.
 This survey analyzes geographical divisions of Orange County that
 represent distinguishable communities in terms of social, housing, and
 public policy concerns. The sample size is 1,008 Orange County adult
 residents.Online data analysis & additional documentation in Link
 below.
description: The sample for the 1985 Orange County Annual Survey consists of
 1,008 randomly selected residents who were interviewed by telephone. The
 sample stratified geographically, with half of the sample selected from
 north of the Santa Ana River and half from the south. For data analyses,
 the sample is statistically weighted to represent the actual distribution
 of the Orange County population. The sample in each area was chosen using
 a computer program which randomly generates telephone numbers from among
 working blocks of telephone exchanges. A working block is one that
 contains numbers in use. The total of telephone numbers generated within
 an exchange was in proportion to the number of residential phones
 represented by that exchange in the northern art of the county or the
 southern part of the county. Using this procedure, approximately 2,500
 telephone numbers from the south and approximately 2,500 telephone numbers
 from the north were drawn. This procedure of random digit dialing ensures
 that unlisted as well as listed numbers are included the sample. Also,
 since over 97% of the households in Orange County have telephones, random
 dialing yields a sample representative of the population Orange County.
 The Troldahl-Carter Method was used in randomly selecting which adult
 member of the household was to be interviewed. This method consists of
 numerating the total number of adults in the household and the total
 number men in the household. Then, using a prearranged grid, the
 interviewer selects the individual in the household for interviewing. As
 further evidence of the representativeness of the sample chosen by the
 above methods, characteristics of the sample were compared to
 characteristics of the total Orange County population using the 1980
 Census. On the basis of age, household composition, marital status,
 household size, and homeownership, the sample is representative of the
 population of Orange County. Characteristics of the 1982, 1983, and 1984
 Orange County Annual Survey samples were also contrasted with the
 characteristics of the 1985 orange County Annual Survey sample. Marital
 status, ethnicity, age, sex, and education were closely comparable in the
 four surveys. The sampling error for this survey is plus or minus three
 percentage points. This means that if this survey were to be repeated 100
 times, in 95 out of the 100 times the answers obtained for a particular
 question would match those we obtained in this survey within three points.
 The sampling error for any particular subgroup would be greater. These
 calculations assume that the data were collected under ideal
 circumstances. Since there are a large number of practical problems in
 conducting social surveys, the actual sampling error for any particular
 result might be slightly higher.