2016 Time Series Study

Face-to-face sample:

• Sample universe: U.S. eligible voters (cross-section)
• Sample composition: all fresh cross-section cases
• Number of waves: 2 (pre-eIection, post-election)
• Number of interviews: 1180 pre-election; 1,058 post-election
• Modes used: face-to face; CASI
• Instrument format: laptop CAPI; laptop CASI

Internet sample:

• Sample universe: U.S. eligible voters (cross-section)
• Sample composition: all fresh cross-section cases
• Number of waves: 2 (pre-eIection, post-election)
• Number of interviews: 3,090 pre-election; 2,590 post-election
• Modes used: internet
• Instrument format: web-based

Study Content Highlights:

In addition to content on electoral participation, voting behavior, and public opinion, the 2016 ANES Time Series Study contains questions in other areas such as media exposure, cognitive style, and values and predispositions. Several items first measured on the 2012 study were asked again including the ‘Big Five’ personality traits using the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), and skin tone observations made by interviewers in the face-to-face study. For the first time, ANES has collected supplemental data directly from respondents’ Facebook accounts. The Post-Election interview also included Module 5 from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES).

Study Design Highlights:

Data collection for the ANES 2016 Time Series Study began in early September and continued into January, 2017. Pre-election interviews were conducted with study respondents during the two months prior to the 2016 elections and were followed by post-election reinterviewing beginning November 9, 2016. As in 2012, face-to-face interviewing was complemented with data collection on the Internet. Data collection was conducted in the two modes independently, using separate samples but substantially identical questionnaires. Web-administered cases constituted a representative sample separate from the face-to-face.

Additional Files:

The 2016 Methodology Dataset provides over 3,600 methodological variables for the ANES 2016 Time Series, including interviewer characteristics, final disposition data for the full sample of households, sample information, the face-to-face and web screening interviews, records of contact and attempted contact with households, mailings, web login records, base weights and weighting components, replicate weights, and the data from a non-response follow-up (NRFU) study.

The 2016 Vote Validation dataset serves to validate self-reported voter turnout from the ANES 2016 Time Series with voter records assembled by a commercial vendor and matched to ANES respondents, and to evaluate the quality of such data. The data can be merged with the 2016 Time Series data.

The 2016 Time Series Address-Level Supplemental Data on Voters gives the voter turnout status for adults living at each address that was sampled for the ANES 2016 Time Series Study. Turnout is given for the general elections in 2012, 2014, and 2016. Additionally, the file includes information about the quality of the address match.