DOI: 10.3886/icpsr26946.v1
title: CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #1, April 2009
title: Version 1

description: This poll, fielded April 1-5, 2009, 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. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way Barack Obama was handling the presidency and issues such as the economy and foreign policy. A series of questions addressed the Obama Administration's approach to solving economic problems and whether the administration's policies favored the rich, the middle class, or the poor. Respondents gave their opinions of First Lady Michelle Obama, the United States Congress, the Republican and Democratic parties, and whether President Obama or the Republicans in Congress were more likely to make the right decisions about the national economy and national security. Views were sought on President Obama's proposed budget plan, including changes in federal income taxes and government spending, and proposals to give financial assistance to the banking and automotive industries. A series of questions addressed the condition of the national economy, the most important economic problem facing the nation, the financial situation of the respondent's household, and how the recession was affecting their life. Respondents compared their current standard of living with that of their parents at the same age and gave their expectations about the standard of living of their children. Other questions asked respondents what the phrase "American dream" meant to them and whether they had achieved the "American dream" or expected to in their lifetime. Additional topics addressed the bonuses given to AIG insurance company executives, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, international trade, health insurance coverage, and government spending on cancer research. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, education level, marital status, household income, employment status, perceived social class, political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration status and participation history, religious preference, whether respondents had children under the age of 18 years, 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 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 #1, April 2009
description: Persons aged 18 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 Q103 (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.