National Surveys on Energy and Environment [United States]

Summary:  View help for Summary The National Surveys on Energy and Environment (NSEE), a core activity in CLOSUP's Energy and Environmental Policy Initiative, reflects a formal partnership between the Muhlenberg Institute of Public Opinion at Muhlenberg College and the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. NSEE surveys include twice per year national opinion surveys on issues directly related to climate change and energy policy, as well as other surveys conducted on a range of topics such as hydraulic fracturing ("fracking"), the Great Lakes, and wider issues of energy and environment. NSEE is co-directed by professor Barry Rabe at the University of Michigan, and professor Christopher Borick at Muhlenberg College. For more information on the collaboration between the University of Michigan and Muhlenberg College, please see the recent article from Muhlenberg Magazine. For more information about the NSEE, contact CLOSUP staff at 734-647-4091 or closup@umich.edu. From 2008-2012 the survey was called the “National Survey of American Public Opinion on Climate Change” (NSAPOOC); starting in 2013 the survey was renamed to the “National Surveys on Energy and Environment” (NSEE). 

The NSEE is committed to transparency in all facets of our work, including timely release and posting of data from each survey wave. A grant from the Office of the Provost at the University of Michigan has allowed us to provide online access to earlier waves of the NSEE, including frequency tables, survey instruments, and datasets. Users can see a list of topics covered by the NSEE, and search for questions by text, variable name, or variable category on CLOSUP's website. 

Although the datasets are listed by survey wave, the NSEE is a valuable source of longitudinal public-opinion data on climate change and energy policy. Many questions have been asked over multiple waves, including questions about belief in global warming that have been asked in every wave of the NSEE. Consult the NSEE Crosswalk to see which questions have been asked in prior and subsequent waves of the NSEE. To facilitate longitudinal analysis, the NSEE datasets use a longitudinal variable naming scheme to facilitate longitudinal analysis. Variable names include two parts: a subject category for the question, and a description of the contents of the question. When a question has been asked with the same text and response options over multiple waves, the same variable name will be used in each dataset. For more information on the longitudinal naming scheme users should consult the codebooks for the datasets.

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms environmental attitudes; beliefs; opinion poll; energy policy; public opinion; renewable energy; energy; environmental policy; climate change; global warming

Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage United States

Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 9/2/2008 – 9/24/2015 (2008-Present)