DOI: 10.3886/icpsr36599
title: Los Angeles County Social Survey, 1992 (LACSS)
title: Archival Version

description: The Los Angeles County Social Survey (LACSS) continues the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area Studies (LAMAS) and the Southern California Social Surveys (SCSS). The Log Angeles County Social Survey (LACSS) is part of a continuing annual research project supported by the Institute for Social Science Research at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Each year a University of California researcher is given an opportunity to be principal investigator and to use a segment of the LACSS for his or her own research. The 1992 principal investigator was Dr. Lawrence Bobo, who was an Associate Professor of Sociology at UCLA.
The LACSS 1992 was conducted between February and July 1992. Los Angeles County residents were asked questions concerning ethnic relations, social dominance, social distance, immigration, affirmative action, employment, and government. A split ballot methodology was utilized concerning the topics of immigration and affirmative action. Respondents were randomly selected to answer a series of questions from one of three ballots. In addition, a different series of social distance questions were asked depending on the respondent's ethnicity. Questionnaires were provided in both English and Spanish languages.
Demographic information collected includes race, gender, religion, age, education level, occupation, birth place, political party affiliation and ideology, and origin of ancestry.
description: The primary purpose of the Los Angeles County Social Survey (LACSS) is to provide the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the local community with information about the opinions and attitudes of Los Angeles County residents on a wide range of topics. The study sought to survey a representative sample of adults in Los Angeles County. The LACSS also provides UCLA undergraduate and graduate students with the experience of collecting survey research data.
description: The 1992 Los Angeles County Social Survey was designed to sample subpopulations disproportionately to insure that a sufficient number of interviews for analysis would be completed with African American, Latino, and Asian American respondents. This was accomplished by drawing oversamples from areas with high concentrations of African American and Asian American telephone households. As a result, telephone numbers from these oversamples had a disproportionately better chance of being selected into the sample than those respondents living in telephone households outside the oversample areas. Disproportionate weighting of these cases was done to compensate for the differential sampling. A description of how this weighting was done can be found in the section called "Disproportionate Weighting" under LACSS 1992 Summary Report in the Producer Documentation.
description: The data are not weighted and no weight variables are present in the collection.
description: Response Rates: The response rate for this survey is 45 percent. The margin of error for any given question is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
description: A random digit dial sample of telephone households in Los Angeles county was called, and interviews were completed with 1,897 adult respondents. These respondents were selected in a two-stage process. First, telephone households were randomly selected. Then, one adult from each eligible household was selected to do an interview. In addition, an oversample of African American and Asian American telephone households was drawn from areas in Los Angeles county.
description: Datasets: 
DS1: Los Angeles County Social Survey, 1992 (LACSS)
description: Households with telephones in Los Angeles County. Smallest Geographic Unit: county
description: computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI); telephone interviewICPSR removed variables DM14 (Respondent's zip code), CTIM (Time), EXC1 (Telephone exchange flag #1), and EXC2 (Telephone exchange flag #2) from data and documentation to prevent disclosure risk. Additionally, ICPSR is not disseminating open ended "other" response data files.