The GSS, conducted by the National Opinion ResearchCenter (NORC), uses a structured interviewschedule. The GSS was administered annually from1972 and then biennially from 1994 to a nationalprobability sample. Some questions are asked onevery survey, other questions have rotated, andsome have been used only in a single survey.

The GSS measures a great many variables usinganswers to questions as indicators. The variablesincluded on past surveys cover a wide range ofbehaviors, among them drinking behavior, membershipin voluntary associations and the practiceof religion, and numerous attitudes, such asopinions about abortion, affirmative action,capital punishment, family roles, and confidencein the military. Browse through the archives of the GSS to findquestions asked between 1972 and 2008, which isavailable at http://sda.berkeley.edu/archive.htmand select a few variables of interest.

1. List the names of the variable and the questionson the GSS that are the indicator(s) ofthose variables.

2. Comment on the specific questions that wereused. Do you think they are valid indicatorsfor the variables? Are the questions clearand easy to understand? What do you thinkof the answer categories?