Community political systems study, 1962

About this book

Leaders and non-leaders in four central cities of independent metropolitan areas of Wisconsin were interviewed immediately following the April 1962 local elections. The interviews were conducted by the Survey Research Laboratory of the University of Wisconsin. The four central cities included in the sample are Madison, Kenosha, Racine, and Green Bay. In the cross-section, 1,853 respondents were interviewed: 458 in Racine, 330 in Kenosha, 305 in Green Bay, and 271 in Madison. The number of leaders interviewed were 135 in Racine, 120 in Kenosha, 110 in Green Bay, and 124 in Madison. The cross-section sample was a probability sample of the potential electorate. The leader sample included formal leaders and informal leaders. The data contain some blanks as legitimate codes. Questions covered the respondent's feelings about the community, length of residence, source of information (newspapers, magazines, newscasts) about local politics, ability to identify local officials, and activism in local politics. The respondents were also asked to identify major problems facing the community and which groups or individuals were working to solve these problems and which ones were blocking efforts at a solution. Several questions solicited the respondents' evaluation of the local school system.