DOI: 10.3886/icpsr07250
title: Political Change in Britain, 1963-1970
title: Archival Version

description: This study surveyed both cross-section and panel samples
 between 1963 and 1970, in an effort to analyze political change in
 Great Britain. Interviewing was conducted in four waves: the first
 wave in 1963, an election-free year, and the next three waves
 subsequent to the general elections in 1964, 1966, and 1970. The
 present study contains the master file bringing together the data
 resulting from the 1963 national cross-section sample, the 1964 and
 1966 electorate samples, and 11 additional panels resulting from
 reinterviewing respondents from one or more of the three samples
 listed above. Also available through ICPSR are three subsets of these
 data: POLITICAL CHANGE IN BRITAIN, 1963 (ICPSR 7232) presents data
 obtained from the 1963 national cross-section sample, POLITICAL CHANGE
 IN BRITAIN, 1964 (ICPSR 7233) includes the interviews administered to
 the 1964 electorate sample, and POLITICAL CHANGE IN BRITAIN, 1966
 (ICPSR 7234) contains data resulting from the 1966 electorate
 sample. The interviews focused on the phenomenon of political
 change. General political attitudes and behaviors were ascertained, as
 well as possible sources for their change. Variables assessed
 respondents' sources of political information, perceptions of
 political parties and leaders, and views on governmental
 responsiveness, economic well-being, and other salient issues. Other
 questions probed partisan self-identification and the extent of
 political participation. The respondents' knowledge of members of
 parliament from their constituencies, and perceptions of social class
 and trade-union influence were also investigated. Semantic
 differential scales were employed to assess respondents' perceptions
 of the three main parties. Extensive demographic data were collected,
 including age, sex, marital status, number of children, religion,
education, occupation, and income.
description: With the exception of the 1963 cross-section sample, which
 is self-weighting, all other samples require the use of a weight
 variable, designed to offset the bias introduced by panel mortality.
 Weights were assigned to the respondents on the basis of sex and a
 Guttman scale of political knowledge questions. They are always two
 digits wide with one implied decimal place, and range from 0.8 to
 2.1. One weight variable applies to more than one sample in which
 there were no differences between the respondents' weights in the
electorate sample and the panel sample(s) for related years.
description: The original sample drawn in 1963 was a self-weighting,
 multi-stage, stratified sample of the adult population of England,
 Scotland, and Wales living in private households or institutions. The
 1964 and 1966 electorate samples consisted of reinterviews with
 respondents who were living at 1963 sample addresses and were
 registered to vote, as well as interviews with respondents living at
 sample addresses added to the 1963 master list to make the samples
 representative of the electorates in 1964 and 1966. Only panel samples
 were included in 1970, consisting of reinterviews with respondents who
 had been surveyed in at least one of the previous three waves. The
 four waves of interviewing yielded 14 overlapping, but analytically
 distinct, samples. The overlapping occurred because most respondents
 qualified for inclusion in more than one sample. Eligibility for a
 panel sample depended on the respondent's having been eligible for the
 cross-section or electorate sample that marked the beginning point for
that panel.
description: Datasets: 
DS1: Political Change in Britain, 1963-1970
description: Electorate of England, Scotland, and Wales.
description: All the data collected for this study are contained in
 a single file, from which all 14 samples can be derived by means of
filter variables.