PEW RESEARCH CENTER - Global Attitudes & Trends

Spring 2017 38-Nation Survey

It is important to read this information before using the Pew Research Center's
Spring 2017 Global Attitudes survey dataset.

1. General population weight:

The weight that must be used when analyzing the attitudes and opinions of the
general populations is:

General population variable name: Weight

Weight by weight for this analysis.

2. The full topline results are for the general populations, unless otherwise
stated. To access topline trends, please use the Pew Global Attitudes & Trends
Question Database on our website: http://www.pewglobal.org/question-search/

3. The topline results exclude data for questions where there are fewer than 100
observations for a particular country. This data is, however, included in the full
dataset.

4. The questionnaire includes full question wording as well as answer category

values.

5. Methodological overviews of each survey country, including sample design,

mode, languages, fieldwork dates, sample size, margin of error and
representativeness are available on our methods website:
http://www.pewresearch.org/methodology/international-survey-research/international-
methodology/

6. Certain variables have been eliminated from the dataset either because of
disclosure sensitivities or because of administrative errors.

7. To test for the effect of randomization, we used a split-form questionnaire

where half of the respondents in some countries received a non-randomized version
of the question and the other half of respondents received a randomized version of
the question. In most cases, no differences were found between the two half
samples, and in these cases the variables have been combined in the dataset. In the
few countries where we found significant differences, the non-randomized data was
used. The split-form versions of the questions (Q17, Q23, Q24, Q27, Q31-Q33, Q68,
Q74, Q75, Q87, Q88, Q125) are available upon request.

8. Half of the sample in nine countries received a shorter version of the

smartphone question (Q65). No differences were found between the two versions of
the question and data was combined (reference code: smartphone). The full question
wording with smartphone examples was used for reporting.
9. Two questions in Mexico were also split-tested to determine the effect of
question wording (Q147 & Q148). The two versions resulted in different findings and
have not been combined.

10. In India, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam, we tested two slightly different
versions of the religious identity question (Q151) using a split sample. There were
no differences between the two versions of the question.

11. In the United Kingdom, respondents chose to provide annual, monthly or weekly
income (Q160). Due to an error in the questionnaire, the response options do not
match across the three different scales.