DOI: 10.3886/icpsr38129.v1
title: 2016 Latino Immigrant National Election Study (LINES), [United States]
title: Version 1

description: The 2016 Latino Immigrant National Election Study (LINES) is a panel study of Latino foreign-born residents of the United States, with telephone surveys of nationally representative samples of respondents fielded in 3 waves over 2016-2017.

The first survey in the 2016 LINES took place during the general election campaign (August and September of 2016). Interviews (N = 1,800) were conducted in English and Spanish, although nearly all respondents opted for Spanish. Because many of the initial telephone numbers dialed were either out of service or otherwise unusable, the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) "Response Rate 1" calculation is low (.034). However, in cases when an eligible immigrant was identified based on the initial screening questions, only 12 percent opted not to complete the survey. On average, an interview that fall lasted approximately 25 minutes.

After the 2016 election, 576 immigrants took part in the second survey wave, which was fielded during the presidential transition period (a 32 percent re-contact rate). At this time, an additional fresh sample of 260 Latino immigrants was added to the study, again to help gauge and ameliorate any potential respondent attrition biases. Finally, in the summer of 2017 (July through early-September), a third wave was conducted, with all 1,800 immigrants from the pre-election baseline survey being eligible for interviewing. In this period, 31 percent of these immigrants (N = 554) were surveyed; this included 321 respondents who had taken part in the second wave and 233 who had not. To increase the sample size at this time and address attrition over time, 500 fresh immigrants were surveyed. In total, 2,560 immigrants took part in the 2016-2017 LINES: 1,800 from before the election, 260 during the presidential transition period, and 300 in the summer of 2017.

The questionnaire instrumentation used in the study was largely adapted from item wordings in the 2012 American National Election Study (ANES). The survey focuses on immigrant civic engagement and political socialization, including items on immigrant attitudes, opinions and electoral and non-electoral political behavior.
description: Like the LINES 2012, the purpose of the study was to understand how politically engaged are Latino immigrants compared to Latinos who were born and raised in the United States or African Americans or Whites. The study examined whether immigrants without voting rights are less inclined to take part in civic life than other individuals in the United States and whether immigrants who remained involved in politics in their country of birth are less likely to follow public affairs in the United States.

For the 2016-2017 study, the aim was to draw longer-term inferences about how the Latino immigrant community is responding to a tumultuous turn in American politics.
description: The first survey wave was administered nationally by telephone to a representative sample (N = 1,800). Both cellular and landlines were called. Nearly all interviews were in Spanish, by the respondent's choice.

After the 2016 election, 576 immigrants took part in the second survey wave, which was fielded during the presidential transition period (November 8, 2016 - January 20, 2021, a 32 percent re-contact rate). At this time, an additional fresh sample of 260 Latino immigrants was added to the study using the same sampling procedures as the first wave.

In the summer of 2017 (July through early-September), a third wave was conducted, with all 1,800 immigrants from the pre-election baseline survey being eligible for interviewing. In this period, 31 percent of these immigrants (N = 554) were surveyed; this includes 321 respondents who had taken part in the second wave and 233 who had not. In addition to these respondents, 500 fresh immigrants were sampled using the same procedures as the first wave. In total, 2,560 immigrants took part in the 2016-17 LINES.
description: Included in the study were variables pertaining to socio-demographics, such as education, income, gender, age, marital status, country of birth, time in the United States, and civic status. Other variables included in the study were political preference, religious preference, civic participation, and perceived discrimination.
description: Distributions of socio-demographic variables were compared to the American Community Survey (ACS). In most respects, the LINES sample conformed to the ACS, though significant discrepancies were found for education, age, gender, and citizenship status. Weighting values were calculated based on these variables through iterative proportional fitting ("raking"). These values are given in the variable "weight."
description: Response Rates: Response Rate (American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) RR1) = .034 (pre-election); .020 (post-election transition); .032 (summer of 2017). 
 Cooperation Rate (COOP 4) = .239 (pre-election); 253 (post-election transition); .296 (summer of 2017).
description: Presence of Common Scales: Much of the instrumentation was adapted from the 2012 American National Election Study.
description: Adult United States immigrants from one of the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America were eligible to participate in the study. Interviews were conducted by telephone. Contact information for respondents was obtained from market research firms; both landlines and cellular numbers were randomly selected for national coverage.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Public-Use Data
DS2: Restricted-Use Data
description: Foreign-born adult residents of the United States who emigrated from one of the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America. Smallest Geographic Unit: State
description: telephone interviewRelated Data Collections: This collection is related to 2012 Latino Immigrant National Election Study (LINES), ICPSR 36680.