The 1985 USIA Central American Surveys

In: Public opinion quarterly: journal of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, Volume 52, Issue 4, p. 552-556

Abstract

Surveys conducted by the US Information Agency (USIA) in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, & El Salvador, as reported in the press, resulted in findings strongly supportive of President Reagan's foreign policy objectives. Despite Freedom of Information requests, the technical reports, data sets, & information about sampling were not released. Based on the codebook, the questionnaire, & the frequency distributions for each item, which were provided, the data cannot be entirely discounted. Problems in the research design included lack of rural respondents, inclusion only of those with at least seven years of schooling, & lack of opportunity in multiple choice questions to express criticism of the US. However, none of the problems identified render the data totally unworthy of attention & credibility. 3 References. A. Waters