Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner. 

<i>British General Election Study, 1997</i> The aims of the 1997 British General Election Study are: to maintain the continuity of the BGES survey series thereby providing a record of voting behaviour over the last three decades; to compare voting behaviour and issues of identity North and South of the Scottish border; to analyse the interaction between long-term structural trends, medium term economic and other influences, and short-term political factors and the way in which they determine the outcome of the next election; to compare internationally the impact of electoral institutions on voting behaviour and on attitudes towards elections.

Main Topics:

The file consists of data from a face-to-face interview; a self-completion (including the CSES international module); geographic information derived from the census; turn-out and electoral registration information derived from a check against the marked-up Electoral Registers. The sample includes a Scottish boost (see also SN:3889 <i>Scottish Election Survey, 1997</i>). Standard Measures self-completion Q3a,b,e,f,g,Q4a make up a standard BGES left-right scale; self-completion Q3c,d, and Q4b-e make up a standard BGES libertarian-authoritarian scale.

Multi-stage stratified random sample

Face-to-face interview

Self-completion

CAPI; methods of data collection also include : link to Census data; check against marked-up electoral registers