The purpose of our initial study, the Social and Political Attitudes Study (SPAS), was to discover which political issues most divide people, and also to discover how the most divided people see the world.
In our new study, Civil Unrest and Presidential Election Study (CUPES), currently in the data analysis stage, we examine the same topics but in light of the unprecedented level of social and economic unrest of 2020. Specifically, we have added questions about peoples’ political and social attitudes as they relate to the George Floyd protests, the Coronavirus Pandemic, and the presidential election.
Data is being collected in September and October 2020 via Qualtrics Survey Software and Qualtrics’ sample recruitment services. 1500 adults will fill out a 15-minute survey. The study sample is nationally representative, meaning that the proportion of participants will reflect the U.S. adult population in terms of educational attainment, gender, and household income. We also over-sampled ethnic minorities to ensure that their attitudes, experiences, and perceptions can be assessed adequately.
All of our data will be made available to qualified researchers after reports and peer-reviewed publications have been drafted. Please send inquiries regarding the date of availability.
For additional information (e.g., measures used, codebook, participant details) on this study, please feel free to email [email protected] or principal investigators from the Worldview Foundations Research Team: Dr. Kevin McCaffree and Dr. Anondah Saide.
We are interested in hearing your suggestions for future research studies. Please send us an email to [email protected].
Science is fundamentally a collaborative endeavor. Your contributions, whether concrete (i.e., monetary) or abstract (i.e., ideas) are important to us. There are many ways you can become involved or contribute to the Skeptic Research Center. Fund our studies. Provide feedback. Submit an idea by email.
REPORT (CUPES-005)
Censorship Attitudes and Voting Preferences
Fifth report in the Civil Unrest & Presidential Election Study (CUPES)
Here, we examine attitudes about censorship, in particular, peoples’ level of support for freedom of speech and freedom of thought. Due to the politicized nature of this topic — especially in recent months as social media censorship has been debated in the halls of government and academia — we thought it would be relevant to consider how people’s attitudes towards censorship varied with regard to their reported voting preference in the 2020 presidential election. Check out our findings.
Download Report (CUPES-005)
Suggested Citation: Saide, A., & McCaffree, K. 2021. Censorship Attitudes and Voting Preferences . Skeptic Research Center, CUPES-005.
Technical and statistical information on this data and analysis is available in the Supplemental Materials for Report CUPES-005.
REPORT (CUPES-004)
Trust in Institutions
Fourth report in the Civil Unrest & Presidential Election Study (CUPES)
Here, we examine Americans’ level of trust in institutions, as well as how trust levels vary by political party affiliation and gender. We asked the question: “how much do Americans trust news media, political officials, hospitals/doctors, and educational institutions?”
Download Report (CUPES-004)
Suggested Citation: Saide, A., & McCaffree, K. 2021. Trust in Institutions. Skeptic Research Center, CUPES-004.
Technical and statistical information on this data and analysis is available in the Supplemental Materials for Report CUPES-004.
REPORT (CUPES-003)
Inequality & the Economy: Pandemic Tradeoffs
Third report in the Civil Unrest & Presidential Election Study (CUPES)
In this report, we examine how peoples’ attitudes reflect difficult recent tradeoffs associated with racism, the economy, and the COVID-19 pandemic. People are concerned about unemployment, COVID-19, and racism, but how do they weigh each concern relative to one another? For example, the more people go out to protest, the more they may contribute to the spread of COVID-19. Or, the more businesses are closed to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the greater the risk of joblessness.
Download Report (CUPES-003)
Suggested Citation: Saide, A., & McCaffree, K. 2020. Inequality and the Economy: Pandemic Tradeoffs. Skeptic Research Center, CUPES-003.
Technical and statistical information on this data and analysis is available in the Supplemental Materials for Report CUPES-003.
REPORT (CUPES-002)
Intolerance Is Lower Than You Might Think
Second report in the Civil Unrest & Presidential Election Study (CUPES)
Have Americans become more politically intolerant over the last year? If so, is this intolerance directed more toward perceived oppositional political parties or specific political candidates? In this report, we seek answers to these questions.
Download Report (CUPES-002)
Suggested Citation: Saide, A., & McCaffree, K. 2020. Intolerance Is Lower Than You Might Think. Skeptic Research Center, CUPES-002.
Technical and statistical information on this data and analysis is available in the Supplemental Materials for Report CUPES-002.
REPORT (CUPES-001)
Did Political Disunity Change in 2020?
First report in the Civil Unrest & Presidential Election Study (CUPES)
If nothing else, the year 2020 has focused the national conversation on how politically polarized Americans seem to have become. It would seem that much of this conversation treats polarization as a slow, cumulative, process that eventually causes inevitable conflict. In this report, our first from the Civil Unrest & Presidential Election Study (CUPES), we show evidence of a marked shift in the unity of the Democratic Party and Republican Party between 2019 and 2020.
In this study we examined social and political attitudes in the United States as they relate to the George Floyd protests, the Coronavirus Pandemic, and the presidential election.
Download Report (CUPES-001)
Suggested Citation: Saide, A., & McCaffree, K. 2020. Did Political Disunity Change in 2020? Skeptic Research Center, CUPES-001.
Technical and statistical information on this data and analysis is available in the Supplemental Materials for Report CUPES-001.
