Indian National Election Surveys: Voter Attitudes and Demographics, 1967-1985

India's adult population was surveyed in face-to-face interviews following the 1967, 1971, 1979, and 1985 national elections. The data captures perceptions of party structures, voting behavior, campaign involvement, and opinions on issues like the Indian Congress and bovine policy. It also includes detailed demographic information on caste, occupation, education, and household composition.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the influence of caste and family on voting patterns based on demographic and political involvement columns.
• Tracking changes in public opinion on the Indian Congress and national issues across four election cycles.
• Modeling the relationship between rural/urban setting, occupation, and political alignment using demographic and party affiliation data.
• Studying the sources of influence on political attitudes through respondents' ranked issue priorities for local and state populations.

Strengths

• Covers four distinct national election periods (1967, 1971, 1979, 1985), enabling longitudinal analysis.
• Includes detailed demographic variables such as caste classification, father's occupation, and monthly expenditures.
• Data collection involved face-to-face surveys, likely providing depth in responses.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, column names, and last update date are unknown across all sources.
• The dataset's age means it may not reflect contemporary Indian politics or survey methodologies.
• Potential for inconsistencies in survey methodology or question phrasing across the four election cycles.

Provenance

Source

Research by Samuel J. Eldersveld (University of Michigan), Ahmed Bashiruddin (Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi), and Dwaine Marvick (UCLA).

Collection Method

Series of face-to-face surveys of adults conducted immediately after national elections.

Time Range

1967 to 1985

Geography

India