Additional 2006 Data Now Available

Newly released data from the 2006 PALS interviews is now publicly available. Topics include schools and education, time use, employment, donations to charity, wealth, and involvement in organizations or groups. This data was collected from self-administered mail-in questionnaires left for each respondent at the conclusion of the face-to-face interviews with about 50% of all PALS participants completing the instrument. Data from the self-administered questionnaire (SAQ) is appended to the PALS Wave 1 data set.

View the list of SAQ variables

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SAQ Methodology

In an effort to learn more about the opinions and activities of the Portraits of American Life Study participants, interviewers left behind the Self-Administered Questionnaire (SAQ), a paper-and-pencil instrument, for the PALS respondents to complete. The instrument covered questions about schools and education, time use, donations to charity, wealth, and involvement in organizations. A $15 incentive check was mailed to PALS respondents who returned a completed SAQ.

The PALS population included oversamples of African-Americans, Asians, and Hispanics. Using the appropriate weights, the PALS sample was shown to be representative of the national population in comparison to the 2005-2007 American Community Survey .

Of the 2,610 PALS respondents, almost half completed the SAQ (49.0% or 1,279). This subsample was older, had a higher household income, was more likely to be white, and obtained a higher level of education than the PALS main study sample.

OVERVIEW OF DEMOGRAPHIC COMPARISON, unweighted 2006 data

Notes

¹Emerson, Michael O., David Sikkink, and Adele D. James. 2010. "The Panel Study on American Religion and Ethnicity: Background, Methods, and Selected Results." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 49(1):162-171.