DOI: 10.3886/icpsr27601
title: 21st Century Americanism: Nationally Representative Survey of the United States Population, 2004
title: Archival Version

description: The 21st Century Americanism survey was conducted to study (1) the multidimensional nature of American identity ("Americanism"); (2) resentment among Whites toward immigrants, Latinos, and Asians, fueled by perceptions that these groups violate the cherished norms that constitute American identity ("symbolic nativism"); (3) how perceptions of discrimination affect the process of "becoming American" among ethnic minorities ("reactive ethnicity"); and (4) the relationships among these issues and public opinion on policies that address ethnic change. The data collection began in July 2004 and was completed by October 2004. This nationally representative random-digit dial telephone survey has 2,800 respondents and includes oversamples of Blacks, Latinos, and Asians in the United States. It contains questions that allow for the examination of the causes and consequences of two facets of American identity: (1) how people define the normative content of American identity ("identity content"); and (2) the extent to which people think of themselves primarily as American rather than primarily as a member of a pan-ethnic (i.e., Latino or Asian) or national origin group ("identity attachment"). The survey can be used to test hypotheses regarding whether the alleged traditional consensus on what it means to be American is breaking down, or whether people are increasingly rejecting an American identity and instead prioritizing pan-ethnic or national origin identities. It can also be used to examine how these aspects of one's identity affect political attitudes and behaviors, such as trust in government, voting, and one's sense of obligation to the national community. Demographic variables include gender, age, country of origin, United States citizenship status, race, Hispanic origin, and language and educational attainment. Variables focusing on economic characteristics include employment status and household income.
description: This research enables a better understanding of the complex nature of American identity.
description: The final script contained 116 questions, 11 of which had open-ended response components to them.
The survey was aimed at ten survey objectives: (1) identification of the proper respondent, (2) United States residency and country of origin, (3) opinions about immigration and immigration policies, (4) opinions on what makes a true American, (5) language policy in the United States, (6) knowledge of American government, (7) obligations of American citizens, (8) fear of terrorism, (9) discrimination, and (10) demographic questions.
description: There are two weighting variables for the sample. The first weight variable (POP_WT) weights each respondent according to his or her self-identified race so that results from the entire sample can be generalized to the United States population as a whole. The second weight variable (POP_WT2) weights cases by the proportion of the race/ethnicity population, based on the 2000 Census, in the general population. More weighting information can be found in the ICPSR-generated codebook (Appendix: Weighting Information).
description: Response Rates: The cooperation rate, the ratio of interviews to interviews plus refusals, was 31.2 percent.
description: Random-digit dial supplemented with an oversample of Blacks, Latinos, and Asians. The oversamples were generated through a combination of procedures. The primary procedure involved using the 2000 Census to draw samples stratified by region, urbanicity, and minority density. Areas were categorized as "high density" if Blacks, Latinos, or Asians made up 31 percent to 50 percent of the population in a telephone exchange area and as "medium density" if these groups made up 20 percent to 30 percent of the population. A high and medium density sample was drawn for each group. After six weeks in the field, the Asian American samples were supplemented with a sample of Asian surnames due to higher than expected non-contacts.
More sampling information can be found in the ICPSR-generated codebook (Appendix: Sampling Information).
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Public-Use Data
DS2: Restricted-Use Data
description: Nationally representative random-digit dial telephone survey in the United States plus oversamples of Blacks, Latinos, and Asians. Smallest Geographic Unit: ZIP code
description: computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI)