Colección: Revista Interamericana de Bibliografía (RIB)
Número: 1-4
Título: 1997
Sección: Artículos / Articles
Attitudinal Data
The United States Information Agency (USIA) is an independent, executive branch
agency responsible for the U.S. Government’s overseas information and
cultural programs and a wide variety of communications activities, including
radio and TV broadcasts, publications, libraries, and seminars. In particular,
the USIA conducts these programs with the intent of strengthening the foreign
understanding of U.S. policies and U.S. society (National Archives, 1992c).
One means of measuring the effectiveness of USIA programs is through public
opinion surveys.
The National Archives has custody of over 1,000 public opinion surveys taken
on behalf of the USIA from the mid-1950’s through the late 1980’s.
The bulk of the studies in the Center’s custody were conducted between
1973 and 1989; some earlier USIA poll data are available from the Roper Center,
University of Connecticut, and the Inter-university Consortium for Political
and Social Research (ICPSR). International public opinion surveys taken on
behalf of the USIA are known as the USIA World Wide Surveys. Many surveys
have been conducted in Latin America and include: Radio, Continuing Audience
Analysis Programs; Attitude Surveys of Foreign Perceptions of International
Strength and Security; and Attitude Surveys of National Concerns and Problems.
For example, the USIA contracted with Gallup Argentina to conduct a youth
attitude survey in Argentina during October and November 1985 (USIA Study
I85110). Similar studies were also conducted in Austria (Study I85014) and
Brazil (Study I85114). Data were collected from Argentine youths, ages 16-24,
and their elders (1,507 cases total) to compare their values and attitudes
on topics such as foreign affairs, Argentine society, economic outlook, personal
values, and the role of the younger generation. Over 40 percent of the respondents
were youths (634 cases). For example, summary statistics in the documentation
indicate that approximately two-thirds of Argentine adults and youths similarly
agreed that “without a democratically elected government, it is not likely
that a country’s social problems can be solved.” It is unclear whether
more methodologically sophisticated analyses were conducted on these data,
beyond summary statistics.
Another series of attitudinal surveys, and related to Latin America, is “The
American Soldier in World War II;” a series of 84 studies (275
data files; 137 are documentation data files and 138 raw data) conducted on
U.S. Army personnel during the war by the Army Research Branch (ARB) of the
Army Services Forces.
These records represent one of the first attempts to collect and analyze data
on public opinion and to conduct statistical analyses on the attitudes of
soldiers, recruits, and combat veterans. These data were originally compiled
by the ARB on punched cards during the 1940’s. Samuel Stouffer of the
Social Science Research Council (formerly of the ARB) copied all unclassified
data and used them for further studies (see Stouffer et al. (1949)).
Eventually a duplicate set of the unclassified punched cards was transferred
to the Roper Center and, in 1978, the punched cards were read to magnetic
tape. A copy was then transferred to the National Archives on behalf of the
Army Research Institute, the successor agency to the ARB. Records in the National
Archives related to these surveys are further described in DeWhitt and Ziemer
(1991).
One of the 84 studies concerns the attitudes of U.S. Army personnel stationed
in Panama. The “Panama Canal Department: Cross-Section Omnibus Survey
(AMS-115),” conducted between January and February 1944 on 4,022 subjects,
consists of six data files (3 documentation, 3 raw data). This study was used
to predict the types of men most likely to have attitudes that might lead
to friction between Continental U.S. and Insular (Puerto Rican) troops. In
addition to questions asked of both groups, the Continental men were explicitly
asked how they felt about the Puerto Rican replacement policy and their assignment
in the Caribbean. The Insular men were specifically asked about attitudes
toward the Continental men, interest in studying English, and preferences
for Continental or Insular officers.
Therefore, attitudinal data related to Latin America in the National Archives
have the potential of providing social scientists with important benchmarks
for their research. For example, social geographers proposing to do research
on attitudes of Latin Americans should be aware of the variety of studies
conducted by these agencies and the results obtained by their varied research
projects.