Survey Research and Southern Politics: The Implications of Data Management

In: Public opinion quarterly: journal of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, Band 45, Heft 3, S. 393-401

Abstract

With an identical data base -- the U of Michigan Survey Research Center/Center for Political Studies election studies conducted over the 1952-1976 period -- scholars arrive at conflicting conclusions about the future politics of the South. One problem is alternative regional definitions -- the survey category Solid South (which includes the states of the former Confederacy minus Tenn) or the combined categories Solid South & Border South. Another problem is the choice to analyze native whites, whites, or all election participants. Survey data presented here show that these choices are not neutral; rather, they influence research findings. If the intent is to build on the aggregate data-based research of V. O. Key, Jr., & others, one should use the Solid South definition. Moreover, if the intent is to predict the future politics of the South, one should analyze all election participants. 5 Tables. AA.