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British Social Attitudes Survey, 1999

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Title details

SN: 4318
Title: British Social Attitudes Survey, 1999
Alternative title: BSA
Persistent identifier: 10.5255/UKDA-SN-4318-1
Series: British Social Attitudes Survey, 1983-
Depositor(s): NatCen
Principal investigator(s): National Centre for Social Research
Sponsor(s): Gatsby Charitable Foundation
Countryside Agency
Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions
Department of Health
Department for Education and Employment
Department of Social Security
Economic and Social Research Council
The King's Fund
British Broadcasting Corporation
Broadcasting Standards Commission
British Board of Film Classification
Independent Television Commission
Flextech Television
Grant number: M543285001; R000222960; R000222847
Other acknowledgements: P ; 1850
Social Statistics Laboratory at the University of Strathclyde for writing the SPSS setup file.

Subject Categories

British and Northern Ireland Social Attitudes Surveys - Major studies
Social indicators and quality of life - Society and culture
Social attitudes and behaviour - Society and culture

Abstract

The British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey series began in 1983, and has been conducted every year since, except in 1988 and 1992 when core funding was devoted to conducting post-election studies in the British Election Study (BES) series (held at the Archive under GN 33066). However, for reasons of continuity, in 1997 a scaled-down BSA was also fielded in addition to the BES. Core funding for BSA is supplemented by financial support from a number of sources (including government departments, the ESRC and other research foundations), but final responsibility for the coverage and wording of the annual questionnaires rests with the NatCen Social Research (formerly known as the National Centre for Social Research and before that, Social and Community Planning Research).

The series is designed to produce annual measures of attitudinal movements which will complement large-scale government surveys such as the General Lifestyle Survey and the Labour Force Survey (held under GN 33090 and GN 33246 respectively), which deal largely with facts and behaviour patterns, as well as the data on party political attitudes produced by the polls. One of its main purposes is to allow the monitoring of patterns of continuity and change, and the examination of the relative rates at which attitudes, in respect of a range of social issues, change over time. Some questions are asked regularly, others less often. Many were also included in the Northern Ireland Social Attitudes Survey (NISA) series which ran from 1989-1996 (held under GN 33235). NISA has been succeeded by the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey (NILT) series (held under GN 33312), and the corresponding Young Life and Times Survey (YLT) series (held aunder GN 33313), which surveys young people aged 12-17 living in the households of adults interviewed for NILT. Both series began in 1998.

Additional studies
A combined BSA dataset is available (SN 2824) which includes data from 1983-1989 as well as an information retrieval program and a data extraction program. Also, in 1994, 1998 and 2003, the BSA survey was accompanied by the Young People's Social Attitudes Survey (YPSA) (held under GN 33338), which was designed to explore the attitudes and values of children and young people, and where possible to make comparisons with those held by adults. The sample for YPSA was drawn from young people aged 12-19 years living in the households of adults interviewed for the BSA survey. in addition, a compilation of BSA data and documentation, including interactive descriptive statistics, is available via the Britsocat web site, maintained by the Centre for Comparative European Survey Data.

Further information about the series and links to publications may be found on the NatCen Social Research British Social Attitudes web page.
Main Topics:
The BSA questionnaire normally comprises two parts, one administered and one for self-completion. Each year the interview questionnaire contains a number of 'core' questions, which are repeated in most years. In addition, a wide range of background and classificatory questions is included. The remainder of the questionnaire is devoted to a series of questions (modules) on a range of social, economic, political and moral issues - some asked regularly, others less often. Cross-indexes of those questions asked more than once appear in the reports.

In 1985, an international survey series initiative funded by the Nuffield Foundation, known as the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) (held under GN 33213) commenced. The BSA series contributes data each year for the ISSP, and so some questionnaire modules now allow cross-national comparisons. The ISSP modules are always contained in the self-completion part of the questionnaire.
In the 1999 survey, information was collected on a number of social issues including the following: political attitudes, housing, public spending, welfare, health care, labour market issues, English national identity, begging, education, the countryside, transport, and taste and decency in film and television. Demographic data were also collected. The topic of the ISSP element of the BSA questionnaire was social inequality.

Standard Measures
The questionnaires contain three scales developed by researchers involved in the British Social Attitudes survey series and the British Election Study (BES) series. These are: 'libertarian/authoritarian'; 'left/right'; and 'welfarist '. For details see the Technical Report on the 1999 BSA survey.

Coverage, universe, methodology

Dates of fieldwork: June 1999, November 1999
Country: Great Britain
Spatial units: Local Authority Districts
Postcode (District)
Standard Statistical Regions
Observation units: Individuals
Kind of data: Numeric
Alpha-numeric
Universe: National
Adults
Adults (18 and over) living in private households in Great Britain (excluding the 'crofting counties' north of the Caledonian Canal).
Time dimensions: Repeated cross-sectional study
The BSA survey is conducted annually.
Sampling procedures: Multi-stage stratified random sample
See documentation for each BSA year for full details.
Number of units: (B) 3143 (obtained) Weighted sample size
Method of data collection: Face-to-face interview; Self-completion
The interview is conducted by Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI).
Weighting: No information recorded

Keywords

ACCESS TO FACILITIESADOLESCENTSADULTS
AGEAGRICULTUREAMBULANCE SERVICES
ASIANSATTITUDESBEGGARS
BLACK PEOPLEBRITISH POLITICAL PARTIESBUSES
BUSINESSESCAR PARKING AREASCARE OF DEPENDANTS
CARE OF THE ELDERLYCENSORSHIPCHILD CARE
CHILD DAY CARECHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTSCHILDREN
CINEMA ATTENDANCECLASS CONFLICTCOLLECTIVE BARGAINING
COMMUNITIESCONSTITUTIONSCORRUPTION
COSTSCOUNTRYSIDECULTURAL IDENTITY
CYCLE LANESCYCLINGDEATH PENALTY
DECENTRALIZED GOVERNMENTDECISION MAKINGDENTAL TREATMENT
DENTISTSDISABLED PERSONSDISADVANTAGED GROUPS
DONATIONS TO CHARITYDRIVINGECONOMIC ACTIVITY
ECONOMIC CONDITIONSEDUCATIONEDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITUREEDUCATIONAL FEESEDUCATIONAL GRANTS
EMPLOYEESEMPLOYERSEMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT HISTORYENGLANDEQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW
ETHNIC GROUPSETHNIC MINORITIESEUROPEAN UNION
FATHERSFERTILITY TREATMENTFILMS
FOODFOOD CONTROLFRAUD
FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENTFUMESGENDER
GENERAL PRACTITIONERSGENETIC ENGINEERINGGOVERNMENT POLICY
GREAT BRITAINHEALTHHEALTH SERVICES
HOME BUYINGHOME OWNERSHIPHOMELESSNESS
HOMOSEXUALITYHOSPITAL OUTPATIENT SERVICESHOSPITAL SERVICES
HOUSEHOLDSHOUSINGHOUSING TENURE
ILL HEALTHIMMIGRANTSINCOME
INCOME DISTRIBUTIONINDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENTINDUSTRIES
INTERGROUP RELATIONSINTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCEINTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
INTERNETINVESTMENTJOB CHARACTERISTICS
JOB CREATIONJOB HUNTINGJUDGMENTS (LEGAL)
LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENTLABOUR MIGRATIONLABOUR RELATIONS
LANDLORDSLEAVELEGISLATION
MANAGEMENT OPERATIONSMANAGERSMARITAL STATUS
MEDICAL CAREMEDICAL INSURANCEMINIMUM WAGES
MONARCHYMONEYMORAL VALUES
MOTHERSMOTOR VEHICLESNATIONAL IDENTITY
NATIONAL PRIDENATIONALISMNEWSPAPER READERSHIP
NEWSPAPERSNORTHERN IRELANDNURSES
OCCUPATIONAL PENSIONSONE-PARENT FAMILIESORGAN TRANSPLANTATION
ORGANIC FARMINGORGANIZATIONSPARENTAL ROLE
PARTNERSHIPS (BUSINESS)PART-TIME EMPLOYMENTPATERNITY LEAVE
PATRIOTISMPEDESTRIANSPERFORMANCE
PERIODICALSPETROLPLASTIC SURGERY
POLITICAL ALLEGIANCEPOLITICAL ATTITUDESPOLITICAL INTEREST
POLITICAL SYSTEMSPORNOGRAPHYPOVERTY
PREMARITAL SEXPREMATURE BIRTHSPRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION
PRICESPRIMARY EDUCATIONPRIMARY SCHOOLS
PRIVATE EDUCATIONPRIVATE SECTORPROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION
PUBLIC EXPENDITUREPUBLIC TRANSPORTQUALIFICATIONS
RACIAL CONFLICTRACIAL DISCRIMINATIONRACIAL PREJUDICE
RAILWAY TRANSPORTREDRESS OF GRIEVANCESREFERENDUMS
RELIGIOUS AFFILIATIONRELIGIOUS ATTENDANCERENTED ACCOMMODATION
RESIDENTIAL CARE OF THE SICKRESIDENTIAL MOBILITYRESPONSIBILITY
RETIREMENTRETRAININGROAD TAX
ROAD TOLL CHARGESROAD TRAFFICROADS
RURAL AREASSCHOOL DISCIPLINESCOTLAND
SECONDARY EDUCATIONSECONDARY SCHOOLSSELF-EMPLOYED
SET-ASIDE LANDSEX EDUCATIONSEXUAL BEHAVIOUR
SEXUAL DIFFICULTIESSHARESSICK PERSONS
SINGLE EUROPEAN CURRENCYSMOKINGSOCIAL ATTITUDES
SOCIAL CLASSSOCIAL HOUSINGSOCIAL INEQUALITY
SOCIAL ISSUESSOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITSSOCIAL WELFARE EXPENDITURE
SOCIAL WELFARE PHILOSOPHYSPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATIONSPOUSES
SPOUSE'S ECONOMIC ACTIVITYSPOUSE'S EMPLOYMENTSPOUSE'S OCCUPATION
STATE RETIREMENT PENSIONSSTATE RESPONSIBILITYSTUDENT LOANS
STUDENT TRANSPORTATIONSUPERVISORSTAXATION
TELEVISION CHANNELSTELEVISION PROGRAMMESTELEVISION VIEWING
TERMINALLY ILLTERMINATION OF SERVICETERTIARY EDUCATION
THEFTTRADE UNION MEMBERSHIPTRADE UNIONS
TRANSPORTUNEMPLOYMENTUPPER HOUSE
URBAN AREASVIDEO RECORDERSVIDEO RECORDINGS
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION CERTIFICATESVOTING BEHAVIOURVOTING INTENTION
WAGESWALESWALKING
WEALTHY PERSONSWHITE PEOPLEWILDLIFE PROTECTION
WOODLANDSWORK ATTITUDEWORKING CLASS
WORKING TIME

Administrative and access information

Date of release:
First edition: 25 January 2001
Copyright: Copyright National Centre for Social Research
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 of access for further information.
Availability: UK Data Service
Contact: Get in touch

Documentation

TitleFile NameSize (KB)
Unclassified 4318userguide1.pdf 449
Unclassified 4318userguide2.pdf 326
Index file for srudy 4318 in4318.pdf 11
Study information and citation UKDA_Study_4318_Information.htm 25
READ File read4318.txt 3

Related studies:

British Social Attitudes Survey, 1983 (SN 1935)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 1984 (SN 2035)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 1985 (SN 2096)
British Social Attitudes Survey Panel Study, 1983-1986 (SN 2197)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 1986 (SN 2315)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 1987 (SN 2567)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 1989 (SN 2723)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 1983-1989 (SN 2824)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 1990 (SN 2840)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 1991 (SN 2952)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 1983-1991; Cumulative File (SN 2955)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 1993 (SN 3439)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 1994 (SN 3572)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 1995 (SN 3764)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 1996 (SN 3921)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 1997 (SN 4072)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 1998 (SN 4131)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 2000 (SN 4486)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 2001 (SN 4615)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 2002 (SN 4838)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 2003 (SN 5235)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 2004 (SN 5329)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 2005 (SN 5618)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 2006 (SN 5823)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 2007 (SN 6240)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 2008 (SN 6390)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 2009 (SN 6695)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 2010 (SN 6969)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 2011 (SN 7237)
British Social Attitudes Survey, 1983-1998 : Employment Data (SN 4453)
Union Wage Premium in the USA and UK, 1983-2001 (SN 4976)
Public Understanding of Genomics and the Dynamics of Opinion Change: a Panel Study, 2003-2004 (SN 5147)
National Identity and Constitutional Change in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2001 and 2003 (SN 5249)
Exploring Data, Second Edition: Teaching Datasets, 1958-2005 (SN 6096)

Related case studies:

Introducing sociology students to quantitative research methods
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Related support guides:

Weighting the Social Surveys

Publications

Please note, the inclusion of publications in this tab is temporary. Publications and outputs will be searchable using the publications filter in the near future.

By principal investigator(s):
Links to publications may be found on the NatCen Social Research British Social Attitudes web page.

Social and Community Planning Research (1983-1988) British Social Attitudes technical report, London: SCPR, annual.

Social and Community Planning Research (1989-1995) British Social Attitudes and Northern Ireland Social Attitudes: technical report, London: SCPR.

McGrath, K. and Waterton, J. (1986) British Social Attitudes: 1983-1986 panel survey technical report, London: SCPR.

Brook, L. et al. (compilers) (1992) British Social Attitudes cumulative sourcebook: the first six surveys, Aldershot: Gower. ISBN 0566058294.

Social and Community Planning Research (1996) British Social Attitudes, Young People's Social Attitudes and Northern Ireland Social Attitudes: technical report, London: SCPR.

Social and Community Planning Research (1997) British Social Attitudes and Northern Ireland Social Attitudes: 1995 surveys: technical report, London: SCPR.

Lilley, S. et al. (1998) British Social Attitudes and Northern Ireland Social Attitudes: 1996 surveys: technical report, London: SCPR.

Bromley, C. et al. (1999) British Social Attitudes 1997 survey: technical report, London: National Centre for Social Research.

Thomson, K. et al. (2001) British Social Attitudes 1999 survey: technical report, London: National Centre for Social Research.

Jowell, R. and Airey, C. (eds.) (1984) British Social Attitudes: the 1984 report, Aldershot: Gower. ISBN 0566007371.

Jowell, R. and Witherspoon, S. (eds.) (1985) British Social Attitudes: the 1985 report, Aldershot: Gower. ISBN 0566007517.

Jowell, R. Witherspoon, S. and Brook, L. (eds.) (1986) British Social Attitudes: the 1986 report, Aldershot: Gower. ISBN 0566007525.

Jowell, R. Witherspoon, S. and Brook, L. (eds.) (1987) British Social Attitudes: the 1987 report, Aldershot: Gower. ISBN 0566007533.

Jowell, R., Witherspoon, S. and Brook, L. (eds.) (1988) British Social Attitudes: the 5th report, Aldershot: Dartmouth Publishing. ISBN 0566057719.

Jowell, R., Witherspoon, S. and Brook, L. (eds.) (1990) British Social Attitudes: the 7th report, Aldershot: Dartmouth Publishing. ISBN 0566058405.

Jowell, R., Brook, L. and Taylor, B. (eds.) (1991) British Social Attitudes: the 8th report, Aldershot: Dartmouth Publishing. ISBN 1855212587.

Jowell, R. et al. (eds.) (1994) British Social Attitudes: the 11th report, Aldershot: Dartmouth Publishing. ISBN 1855216124.

Jowell, R. et al. (eds.) (1995) British Social Attitudes: the 12th report, Aldershot: Dartmouth Publishing.

Jowell, R. et al. (eds.) (1996) British Social Attitudes: the 13th report, Aldershot: Dartmouth Publishing. ISBN 1855216078.

Jowell, R. et al. (eds.) (1997) British Social Attitudes: the 14th report: the end of conservative values, Aldershot: Ashgate.

Jowell, R. et al. (eds.) (1998) British - and European - Social Attitudes: the 15th report - how Britain differs, Aldershot: Ashgate.

Jowell, R. et al. (eds.) (1999) British Social Attitudes: the 16th report: who shares New Labour values?, Aldershot: Ashgate.

Jowell, R. et al. (eds.) (2000) British Social Attitudes: the 17th report - focusing on diversity, London: Sage.

Park, A. et al. (eds.) British Social Attitudes: the 18th report: public policy, social ties, London: Sage.

Brook, L. (1998) 'What drives support for higher public spending' in P.F. Taylor-Gooby (ed) Choice and Public Policy, London: Macmillan.

Bryson, C. and Jarvis, L. (2000) Trends in attitudes to health care 1983-1998: report based on results from the British Social Attitudes surveys, London: National Centre for Social Research. ISBN 0904607550.

Park, A. et al. (eds.) (2004) British Social Attitudes: the 21st report, London: Sage.

Park, A. et al. (eds.) (2005) British Social Attitudes: the 23rd report, London: Sage.

Park, A. et al. (eds.) (2007) British Social Attitudes: the 24th report, London: Sage.

Park, A. et al. (eds.) (2009) British Social Attitudes: the 25th report, London: Sage.

Park, A. et al. (eds.) (2010) British Social Attitudes: the 26th report, London: Sage.

Park, A. et al. (eds.) (2010) British Social Attitudes: the 27th report, London: Sage.

Park, A., Clery, E , Curtice, J., Phillips, M and Utting, D. (eds.) (2011) British Social Attitudes: the 28th report, London: Sage. Retrieved February 16th, 2011 from http://www.natcen.ac.uk/study/british-social-attitudes-28th-report

Park, A., Clery, E., Curtice, J., Phillips, M. and Utting, D. (eds.) (2012) British Social Attitudes: the 29th Report, London: NatCen Social Research. Retrieved March 11th, 2013 from http://www.natcen.ac.uk/bsa29

Resulting from secondary analysis:
Taylor-Gooby, P. (1987) 'Welfare attitudes: cleavage, consensus and citizenship', The Quarterly Journal of Social Affairs, 3(3), pp.199-211.

Taylor-Gooby, P. (1988) 'The future of the British welfare state: public attitudes, citizenship and social policy under the Conservative governments of the 1980s', European Sociological Review, 4(1), pp.1-19.

Taylor-Gooby, P. (1989) 'The politics of welfare privatization: the British experience', International Journal of Health Services, 19(2), pp.209-220.

Sabucedo, J. M. and Cramer, D. (1990) 'Sociological and psychological predictors of voting in Great Britain', The Journal of Social Psychology, 131(5), pp.647-654.

Blanchflower, D.G. and Oswald, A.J. (1991) What makes an entrepreneur?, Applied Economics Discussion Paper Series No. 125, October.

Blanchflower, D.G. and Oswald, A.J. (1992) Does access to capital help make an entrepreneur?, NBER Working Paper No. 3252 (rev. version), July.

Blanchflower, D.G. and Oswald, A.J. (1992) 'The wage curve', Scandinavian Journal of Economics 92 (2), pp. 215-253.

Blanchflower, D.G. and Freeman, R.B. (1992) 'Unionism in the United States and other advanced OECD countries', Industrial Relations 31 (1), pp. 56-79.

Blanchflower, D.G. and Oswald, A.J. (1989) 'International patterns of work' IN R. Jowell and S. Witherspoon (eds.) British social attitudes: international comparisons, Gower Press.

Blanchflower, D.G. and Freeman, R.B. (1993) Did the Thatcher reforms change British labour performance?, NBER Working Paper Series No. 4384, June.

Blanchflower, D.G. (1991) 'Fear, unemployment and pay', The Economic Journal 101, May, pp.483-496.

Bartholomew, D.J., de Menezes, L.M. and Tzamourani, P. Latent variable models: an empirical study, paper presented at IPN Symposium - Applications of Latent Trait and Latent Class Models in the Social Sciences - Akademie Sankelmark, Germany, May 1994.

Blanchflower, D.G. and Oswald, A.J. (1994) What makes an entrepreneur?, NBER Working Paper No. 3252 (rev. version), July.

Askham, J., Hancock, R. and Hills, J. (1995) Opinions on pensions: older people's attitudes to incomes, taxes and benefits, London: Age Concern Institute of Gerontology, King's College London, September.

Hancock, R., Jarvis, C. and Mueller, G. (1995) The outlook for incomes in retirement: social trends and attitudes, Age Concern Institute of Gerontology, King's College London, December.

Doling, J. and Ford, J. (1996) 'The new homeownership : the impact of the labour market developments on attitudes toward owning your own home', Environment and Planning A vol. 28, pp. 157-72.

Besley, T., Hall, J., and Preston, I. (1996) The demand for private health insurance: do waiting lists matter? Working Paper No. W96/7, May, London: Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Shapiro, R. et al.(1996) Public opinion toward unemployment, work and well-being (report prepared for the International Labour Office), Columbia University, USA.

Besley, T., Hall, J. and Preston, I. (1996) Private health insurance and the state of the NHS, IFS Commentary No. 52, Institute for Fiscal Studies. ISBN 1-873357-52-4.

Jarvis, C. et al. (1996) Getting around after 60: a profile of Britain's older population, Age Concern Institute of Gerontology, King's College London: HMSO. ISBN 0-11-321966-0.

Brook, L., Hall, J. and Preston, I. (1997) What drives support for higher public spending?, IFS Working Paper W97/16, Institute for Fiscal Studies, June.

Jarvis, C., and Hancock, R. (1997) 'Trends in volunteering and implications for the future' IN C.Pharaoh (ed.) Dimensions of the voluntary sector: key facts and figures, analysis and trends, King's Hill, West Malling, Kent: Charities Aid Foundation. ISBN 1-85934-035-0.

Hall, J. and Preston, I. (1998) Public and private choice in UK health insurance, IFS Working Paper No. W98/19, Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Burchardt, T., Hills, J. and Propper, C. (1999) Private welfare and public policy, York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation. ISBN 1-902633-00-8.

Charlwood, A. (2001) Why do non-union employees want to unionise? Evidence from Britain, Discussion Paper 498, Leverhulme Trust.

Charlwood, A. (2001) Influences on trade union organising effectiveness in Great Britain, Discussion Paper 504, Leverhulme Trust.

Hedges, A. (2005) Perceptions of redistribution: report on exploratory qualitative research, CASEpaper 96, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, London School of Economics, March.

Steven, M. (2010) Christianity and party politics: keeping the faith, London: Routledge, December. ISBN 978-0-415-55660-6.

The Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) has produced a 'Data Dictionary' covering summary information on UK-based survey series (including the BSA) that include any data on alcohol use. Further information and links to the dictionary documents may be found on the IAS Data Dictionary - Table of Contents web page.

Search for British Social Attitudes Survey in ESDS Government publication search.

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