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Title:
Euro-Barometer 41.1: Post-European Election, June-July, 1994

Series: (Eurobarometer Survey Series)

Subject Categories:
International micro data - Major studies
Election and campaign studies - Politics
Political behaviour and attitudes - Politics
International politics and organisations - Politics
Social attitudes and behaviour - Society and culture

Depositor(s):
Zentralarchiv fuer Empirische Sozialforschung (Koeln)

Principal Investigator(s):
Reif, K.
Marlier, E.

Sponsor(s):
Commission of the European Communities

Other Acknowledgements:
Interviewing and sampling were conducted by various organisations operating in the European Union. For further details see documentation.

Abstract:
The Eurobarometer (EB) survey series is a unique programme of cross-national and cross-temporal comparative social science research. Since the early seventies representative national samples in all European Union (EU) (formerly the European Community (EC)) member states have been simultaneously interviewed in the spring and autumn of each year. Starting with EB 34.1 (autumn 1990), separate supplementary surveys on special issues have been conducted under almost every EB number. The EB is designed to provide regular monitoring of public social and political attitudes in the EU through specific trend questions. More information about the series may be found on the Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Data Archive for the Social Sciences (GESIS) Eurobarometer Survey Series web pages. GESIS was formed in 2007 when three independent institutes merged (Social Science Information Centre (IZ) in Bonn, Central Archive for Empirical Social Research in Cologne (ZA), and Centre for Survey Research and Methodology (ZUMA) in Mannheim). Users should note that earlier EBs were deposited by ZA but are available now from GESIS.

Background
Work on European survey series began in early 1970, when the Commission of the European Community sponsored simultaneous surveys of the EC. These surveys were designed to measure public awareness of, and attitudes toward, the Common Market and other EC institutions, in complementary fashion. They also probed the goals given top priority for each respondent's nation. These concerns have remained a central part of the EC's research efforts - which were carried forward in the summer of 1971 with another six-nation survey that gave special attention to agricultural problems. The nine EC member countries were then surveyed again on the same topic areas in September 1973. After 1973, the surveys took on a somewhat broader scope in content as well as in geographical coverage, with measures of subjective satisfaction and the perceived quality of life becoming standard features of the EC public opinion surveys.

Over time, the member states of the EC/EU have increased in number, and the coverage of the EB surveys has widened accordingly. In 1974, nine countries were surveyed: France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland and Luxembourg. Greece has been included since the autumn 1980 survey (EB 14) onwards, Portugal and Spain since autumn 1985 (EB 24), the former German Democratic Republic since autumn 1990 (EB 34), Finland since the spring of 1993 (EB 39), and Sweden and Austria since the autumn of 1994 (EB 42). Norway has been included in some surveys since 1991, from EB 36 onwards. In 2004, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia joined the EU, and in 2007, Bulgaria and Romania (some of these countries participated in the Candidate Countries Eurobarometer survey series (see under GN 33343) before full accession). Canditate countries of Macedonia and Iceland have also been included in selected surveys. Some surveys are also conducted in Turkey, and in the Turkish Cypriot Community (Northern Cyprus).

The Eurobarometer public opinion surveys are conducted on behalf of and co-ordinated by the European Commission, DG Press and Communication - Opinion Polls Sector (European Commission Public Opinion Analysis). Special topic modules are carried out at the request of the responsible EU Directorate General.

This round of EB surveys queried respondents on standard EB measures such as public awareness of and attitudes toward the EU, and also focused on the election of the Parliament for the EU, which occurred in June of 1994. EU matters covered included the respondents' general attitudes toward the European Union and, in particular, their interest in European politics, general efforts to unify Western Europe, their own country's membership, their level of satisfaction with how democracy was working in the EU and in their own country, and the level of involvement of the EU in important issues of the day. Questions on the EU Parliament election asked participants if they had voted in the election, and, if so, for which party they had voted. Respondents were also queried about their attitudes toward female candidates in the election, their feelings about important public figures in general, the role of women in decision-making roles within the institutions and organizations of the EU, the role of political campaigns in the election, and their interpretations of the importance of the results. Respondents commented on how strongly they thought of themselves as Europeans, their attitudes toward a single European currency, feelings about the unemployment problem and the possible need for a massive government program to tackle the problem, opinions on border controls and other political issues and problems, feelings about immigrants, the future role of Germany in the EU, and their level of confidence in the decisions of the EU. They also described the good and bad points of the European Parliament, its power, its effects on the lives of individuals, and whether the EU should develop into a United States of Europe. Demographic and other background information was gathered on the number of people residing in the home, size of locality, household income, trade union membership, region of residence, and occupation of the head of household, as well as the respondent's age, sex, marital status, education, occupation, work sector, religion, religiosity, subjective social class, and left-right political self-placement.

Main Topics:
The special topics in this round were:

• European (Post-)Election Study 1994
• women's voting behaviour in the European Elections 1994 (women in decision-making bodies)
• citizenship, legitimacy and participation in the EU
• attitudes towards immigrants
• trust in people from other countries
• the image of Germany in Europe
• social movements
• attitudes on Denmark and the EU (Denmark only)

Coverage:
Dates of Fieldwork: 11 June 1994-08 July 1994
Country: Belgium; Denmark; France; Germany (October 1990-); Great Britain; Greece; Ireland; Italy; Luxembourg; Netherlands; Northern Ireland; Portugal; Spain
Spatial Units: Countries
Observation Units: Individuals

Universe Sampled:
Location of Units of Observation:Cross-national; National
Population:Adults aged 15 and over living in the the European Union member countries, who registered to vote.

Methodology:
Time Dimensions: Repeated cross-sectional study
Sampling Procedures: The sampling designs were either multi-stage national probability samples or national stratified quota samples.
Method of Data Collection: Face-to-face interview
Weighting: Weighting used. See documentation for details

Language(s) of Written Materials:
Study Description: English
Study Documentation: Various

Access:
Access Conditions: The depositor has specified that registration is required and standard conditions of use apply. The depositor may be informed about usage. See terms and conditions for further information.
Available to UK residents or those registered at UK institutions of higher or further education only.
Availability: ESDS International, UK Data Archive
Contact: Help desk: international@esds.ac.uk
Originating Archive: Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences. Data Archive for the Social Sciences - Original Study Number: 2491
Please Note: A large selection of Eurobarometer Survey Series datasets, including standard Eurobarometers, Central and Eastern Eurobarometers and Candidate Countries Eurobarometers, are available to browse, analyse and download online via GESIS's ZACAT service. Access is free of charge and requires separate online registration, including agreement to terms and conditions of use of the data. The data are available for scientific purposes only.

Date of Release:
First Edition: 12 April 1996
Latest Edition: 21 April 1999 ( 2nd Edition )

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