Loading…
Do you feel that almost all of the people running the government are smart people (1958-1972: who usually know what they are doing), or do you think that quite a few (1970: quite a lot) of them don’t seem to know what they are doing?
Whether government officials know what they are doing · Asked in 9 waves, 1958–1980 · 15,776 responses · weighted estimates computed from individual responses
Codes that include 'no Pre/Post IW' were dropped for respondents without that interview. Kept and flagged: 0 (no_answer), 1 (dk), 9 (dk). Codebook notes: GENERAL NOTE: The order in which questions VCF0604-VCF0608 appeared may have varied. 1988 NOTE: Placement varied by form.
Shares of people who gave an answer. Each column is one wave, evenly spaced rather than to scale in time; hover for exact shares.
| Group | Know what they’re doing | n | MoE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All respondents | 100% | 1610 | ±2 | |
| Democrats | 100% |
| Poll | Field dates | Mode | Respondents | Responses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANES 1980 Time Series Study Source variable: V800404. | 1980-09-02 to 1981-02-07 | face to face | 1,614 | 1,610 |
| ANES 1978 Time Series Study Source variable: V780349. | 1978-11-08 to 1979-01-25 | face to face | 2,304 | 2,304 |
| ANES 1976 Time Series Study Source variable: V763165. | 1976-09-07 to 1977-01-30 | face to face | 2,248 | 2,247 |
| ANES 1974 Time Series Study Source variable: V742232. | 1974-11-06 to 1975-01-31 | face to face | 1,575 | 1,575 |
| ANES 1972 Time Series Study Source variable: V720573. | 1972-09-01 to 1973-02-13 | face to face | 2,705 | 2,285 |
| ANES 1970 Time Series Study Source variable: V700153(type 0). | 1970-11-04 to 1971-01-13 | face to face | 1,507 | 1,507 |
| ANES 1968 Time Series Study Source variable: V680506. | 1968-09-06 to 1969-01-28 | face to face | 1,557 | 1,348 |
Shares of people who gave an answer. A group’s column is left blank in waves where its effective sample is under 50; hover for exact shares.
| 655 |
| ±4 |
| Independents (incl. leaners) | 100% | 591 | ±4 |
| Republicans | 100% | 362 | ±5 |
ANES 1980 Time Series Study · US citizens 18+ living in households in the contiguous 48 states. Shares of people who gave an answer. n is unweighted; ± is the 95% margin of error at 50% from the weighted effective sample. Groups with an effective sample under 50 are grayed; under 20, hidden.
| ANES 1964 Time Series Study Source variable: V640404. |
| 1964-09-07 to 1965-02-01 |
| face to face |
| 1,571 |
| 1,450 |
| ANES 1958 Time Series Study Source variable: V580159. | 1958-11-05 to 1958-12-25 | face to face | 1,450 | 1,450 |