DOI: 10.3886/icpsr26944.v1
title: CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll, February 2009
title: Version 1

description: This poll, fielded February 18-22, 2009, is 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. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way Barack Obama was handling the presidency and issues such as the economy, the war in Iraq, and foreign policy. Respondents gave their opinions of First Lady Michelle Obama, the United States Congress, the Republican and Democratic parties, and how they will work together. Views were sought on the condition of the national economy, the government bailout of the automotive and financial industries, and whether the federal government should provide financial help to homeowners having trouble paying their mortgages.
Additional topics addressed the stimulus package, the national debt, baseball players and steroid use by the players, household finances, job security, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, whether Iran was a threat to the United States, whether the Bush Administration should be investigated for the treatment of detainees, the use of wiretaps, the likelihood that respondents would watch President Obama's address to Congress on February 24th, 2009. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, marital status, education level, household income, home ownership, employment status, perceived social class, political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration status and participation history, religious preference, and whether respondents considered themselves to be a born-again Christian.
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 number 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, February 2009
description: Persons aged 18 and over 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.Responses in the variable Q96 (ZIP Code) were blanked to protect respondent confidentiality.This data collection was produced by CBS News, New York, NY.