Mar09Knowledge.zip

Sample Size: N=1,003 U.S. adults.

Mode: Telephone survey (RDD landline & cell).

Weights: Apply provided weight variable for nationally representative estimates.

Variable Label Differences:

Questionnaire items (Q.1–Q.11) correspond to dataset variables (qm1–qm11).

Knowledge Scale Construction (know12): A composite political knowledge score was created by summing correct responses across 12 items. Example coding syntax:

Q1 (House majority party) → house

Q2 (U.S.–Mexico border state) → border

Q3 (Dow Jones indicator) → dow

Q4 (Afghanistan leader) → afghan

Q5 (Automaker bailout) → autos

Q6 (Treasury Secretary Geithner) → geithner

Q7 (Secretary of State Clinton) → hillary

Q8 (U.S. journalist killed abroad) → killed

Q9 (Unemployment rate) → unemployment

Q10 (Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke) → bernanke

Q11 (China as largest U.S. creditor) → china

Q12 (Bank lending programs) → lend

Scale Variable: know12 = sum(house to lend)

This knowledge index allows researchers to evaluate variation in public knowledge by demographics, media use, and political engagement.