Data News

Clarification of variables

The PALS public data for Wave 1 was reissued on February 4, 2011 to clarify the variable descriptions for some of the Social Activity variables and a Demographics variable related to the primary language spoken in the home.

Variables SA_GAMES, SA_FAMILY, SA_FRIENDS, SA_COWORKERS, SA_PUBLIC, SA_MEETING, SA_EXERCISE, SA_SMALLGROUP, and SA_VOLUNTEER address the number of times the activity occurred in the past 12 months, not "past month" as shown in the previous variable description. The Variable Description List documentation was also revised to reflect this clarification. No data values were changed.

The variable DM_1k description was clarified to show that the respondent was asked if the language used in the interview was the primary language spoken in the home. The previous label description indicated that the interviewer asked if English was the primary language spoken in the home. The Variable Description List documentation was also revised to reflect this clarification. No data values were changed.

The Variable Description List dated January 28, 2011, corrects the description for variable RA_2 which now reads: "God is Not A Personal Being, But More Like An Impersonal Spiritual Force."

Additional 2006 Main Respondent Data Available

Additional data from the 2006 PALS interviews is now publicly available. Topics include schools, education, time use, employment, donations to charity, wealth, and involvement in organization or groups. READ MORE.