D0445: Australian election survey, 1987

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR(s)
McAllister, Ian, University of New South
Wales, Mughan, Anthony, The Australian National University.

DATA COLLECTOR
Ascui, Alvaro
The University of New South Wales

ABSTRACT
The study has two goals. The first is to continue the broad
line of enquiry established by the 1967 and 1979 Australian National
Political Attitudes surveys so that patterns of stability and change
in the political attitudes and behaviour of the Australian electorate
can be traced over two decades. The second is to assess the electoral
impact of forces specific to this election in order better to
understand its outcome.

Respondents were asked which party they voted for in the 1987 and 1984
Federal elections; when they had decided how to vote and whether they
might have changed their vote; party identification; interest in
politics; the importance of a number of issues and the media in
deciding their vote; left-right positions for their own views and
those of the major parties in the 1987 and 1984 elections; feelings
about the party leaders indicated by ratings from 0 to 10, their
qualities and effectiveness as prime minister. A section on election
issues covered perceptions of Australia's current economic situation
and the extent of the effect of government policies on the economy;
government spending; privatisation; the role of trade unions and big
business; uranium mining; law and order; Asian migration; marijuana;
abortion; aborigines; testing for AIDS; censorship; homosexuality;
opportunities for women. Other questions examined trust in government;
political goals; and forms of political action.

Background information included level of schooling; highest level of
qualification; current activity; occupation; employment sector;
supervision; union membership; self assessed social class; sex; age;
length of current residence; country of birth of self and parents;
year arrived in Australia; father's occupation; parents' schooling and
political preference; marital status; number of children; partner's
schooling, occupation, employment sector, supervision, union
membership and political preference; religion and attendance at
religious services.

SUBJECT TERMS
AIDS; economic policy; Elections; Social classes; Social
problems; Social policy; Political parties; Politicians; Politics

UNIVERSE SAMPLED
persons on the Australian electoral roll in June,
1987

SAMPLING PROCEDURE
systematic random sample
A systematic random sample of 2762 cases covering all States and
Territories except South Australia was provided by the Australian
Electoral Office from its computerised electoral roll. A supplementary
sample of 299 cases was selected manually from the alphabetical list
of electors in South Australia by microfiche.

METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION
self-completion (mail out, mail back)

DIMENSIONS OF DATA SET
number of cases: 1825
number of variables per case: 195
number of cards per case: 4

ACCESSIBILITY
A copy of the User Undertaking Form must be signed
before data may be accessed.

PUBLICATIONS
McAllister, I. Australia votes: The 1987 Federal
Election. McAllister, I. and Warhurst, J. eds. Melbourne: Longman
Cheshire, 1988.

McAllister, I. 'Ethnic issues and voting in the 1987 Australian
Federal Election'. Politics, 1988, 23:2:11-15.

McAllister, I. and Bean, C. 'Factions and tendencies within the
Australian party system'. Politics, 1989, 24:2:79-99.

McAllister, I. 'Party adaptation and factionalism within the
Australian party system'. American Journal of Political Science
(forthcoming).

McAllister, I. 'Party elites, voters, and political attitudes: testing
three explanations for mass-elite differences'. Canadian Journal of
Political Science

(forthcoming).
McAllister, I. 'The political attitudes of Australian voters and
candidates'. Australian Journal of Social Issues (forthcoming).

McAllister, I. and Studlar, D. 'The recruitment of women to the
Australian legislative: toward an explanation of women's electoral
disadvantages'. Western Political Quarterly (forthcoming).

START YEAR: 1987
END YEAR: 1987

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION: Australia