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The General Social Survey (GSS) is a long-running US survey of adults, run by NORC at the University of Chicago, that researchers use to study how attitudes, behaviors and demographics change over time. This guide covers what it contains, how its design changed across years, which route to the data fits which need, and how to cite it. Details come from the GSS’s own pages, checked 2026-11-07.
What the General Social Survey is
The GSS is a repeated cross-sectional survey: a fresh sample of respondents is interviewed each time it is fielded, with a core of demographic, behavioral and attitudinal questions that stay the same so answers can be compared across years. According to the GSS’s About page, it has been conducted since 1972 and was founded by James A. Davis. Rotating topic modules have covered areas such as civil liberties, crime and violence, intergroup tolerance, morality, national spending priorities, psychological well-being, social mobility, and stress and traumatic events. It is a form of survey research data that is reused by many analysts rather than collected for one study, which makes it a standard example of secondary data analysis.
Who runs it and what it covers
The GSS is run by NORC at the University of Chicago, and its site credits support from the National Science Foundation. The principal investigators named on the About page include Michael Davern, Rene Bautista (GSS Director), Jeremy Freese, Stephen L. Morgan and Pamela Herd. The GSS FAQ describes the sample design as follows (the annual target of 1,500 applies to the 1972 to 1993 surveys):
- 1972 to 1993: a target of 1,500 respondents per year.
- From 1994: two samples in even-numbered years, rather than one sample each year; in 2006 a third sample brought that year’s total to 4,510.
- No survey was fielded in 1979, 1981 or 1992.
- The latest wave listed on the FAQ is 2024, and the site describes plans for roughly 2,500 interviews between April and summer 2026.
The GSS site states that respondent information is held in strict confidence, that answers are protected by a Certificate of Confidentiality from the National Institutes of Health, and that findings are reported as averages and percentages.
Design changes to check before pooling years
The main reason to read the documentation before running a trend analysis is that the survey’s fielding conditions changed. The timeline below comes from the GSS FAQ; treat each row as a prompt to check the codebook, not as a verdict that years cannot be compared.
| Period | What changed (per the GSS FAQ) | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 to 1993 | Near-annual surveys; no GSS in 1979, 1981 or 1992; Black oversamples added in 1982 and 1987 | Whether a variable was asked in the years you need; the weighting guidance for oversample years |
| From 1994 | Even-numbered years only, with two samples per wave | Gaps in year coverage when plotting odd years |
| 2002 | Computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) began | Whether the codebook notes interview-mode differences for your items |
| 2006 | Third sample added (total 4,510); rotating panels began | Which sample a respondent belongs to |
| 2006 to 2014 | Rotating panel design, which ended after 2014 | The panel codebook and merged-panel weights such as WTPAN12 and WTPAN123 |
| 2021 | Mainly web-based, with some telephone interviews, because of COVID-19 | Comparability of web responses with earlier in-person waves |
| 2022 and 2024 | Multimode: face-to-face, telephone or web | Interview mode for each respondent, as documented in the codebook |
Because the GSS draws a new sample each wave, pooled analyses should follow the weighting guidance in the codebook for the years used; see also sampling methods for background on sample design.
How to get and use the data
The Get the Data page on the GSS site describes the following workflow. Interface names are the site’s own.
- Open the GSS site at gss.norc.org and go to the Get the Data page.
- Read the GSS codebook and the “What’s New in 2024” document first; the page links both as PDFs.
- For the complete dataset, download the file in SPSS, Stata or SAS format.
- To work with selected variables, use the GSS Data Explorer, whose functions are labelled Search for Data, Extract Data, Analyze Data and Save Projects.
- Use the cumulative file when analyzing across years, and record which release you used.
- If your work needs state, county or tract identifiers, start the process described in the “Obtaining GSS Sensitive Data Files” PDF.
- After publishing, add your paper through the bibliography form on the Get the Data page.
Which access route fits which need
| Need | Route named by the GSS |
|---|---|
| Full dataset for your own software | Download from the GSS site (SPSS, Stata, SAS) |
| Browse variables, build an extract, run analysis online | GSS Data Explorer |
| 2006 to 2014 and 2016 to 2020 panel data | GSS site only (SAS, Stata or SPSS) |
| Online analysis at an academic archive | Survey Documentation and Analysis (SDA), UC Berkeley |
| Data through a polling archive | Roper Center (Roper iPoll) |
| Data through a membership archive | ICPSR, if your institution is a member |
| State, primary sampling unit, county or census tract identifiers | Special contract with NORC; contact [email protected] or follow the sensitive-data PDF |
The Get the Data page notes that the other archives may take time to add the newest wave, so check the release year in each.
Citing the GSS and managing the data
The FAQ gives a citation form built on the cumulative data file: the authors Davern, Bautista, Freese, Herd and Morgan, the 1972 to 2024 data, NORC as editor, Chicago, 2025, and the 2024 Release 2 codebook, with separate forms for the 2024-only codebook and the earlier cumulative codebooks. Copy the exact entry from the FAQ rather than reconstructing it. This is a worked case of the data citation principle: cite the dataset itself, name the release, and keep a note of the file and codebook versions in your project records. Files with geographic identifiers are available only under the contract arrangement with NORC, much as sensitive data repositories hold data under access conditions; the GSS states that no individually identifying information is provided under any circumstances.
Strengths and limits
- Strength: a consistent core of questions since 1972, so many topics can be tracked over decades.
- Strength: a codebook per release and several access routes, including a Data Explorer.
- Limit: it is cross-sectional, so it follows populations over time, not the same people (the 2006 to 2014 panels are the exception).
- Limit: mode and sample design changed over time (see the table above), and geographic detail is available only under contract.
- Limit: sample sizes differ by year and sample, so take counts from the codebook for the release you use.
Alternatives
The GSS pages themselves point to archives that hold the data. The table distinguishes the custodian from the hosts; it does not rank them.
| Resource | Role, per the GSS Get the Data page and FAQ |
|---|---|
| GSS website (NORC) | Custodian; downloads and Data Explorer; only source for the panel files |
| SDA, UC Berkeley | Archive copy |
| Roper Center iPoll | Archive copy |
| ICPSR | Archive copy for member institutions |
For where research data are deposited more generally, see data repository.
FAQ
What does GSS stand for?
General Social Survey, the NORC survey conducted since 1972.
Who runs the General Social Survey?
NORC at the University of Chicago, with support credited to the National Science Foundation on its site.
How often is the GSS fielded?
Every year from 1972 to 1993 except 1979, 1981 and 1992; since 1994 in even-numbered years, with 2024 the latest wave on the FAQ.
Where can I download GSS data?
From the GSS website in SPSS, Stata or SAS format, through the GSS Data Explorer, or via SDA at UC Berkeley, Roper iPoll, or ICPSR for member institutions.
Can I get county or state identifiers?
Only under a special contract with NORC, as described in the “Obtaining GSS Sensitive Data Files” document.
Sources
- NORC, General Social Survey, About the GSS: https://gss.norc.org/about-the-gss (checked 2026-11-07)
- NORC, General Social Survey, FAQ: https://gss.norc.org/faq.html (checked 2026-11-07)
- NORC, General Social Survey, Get the Data: https://gss.norc.org/get-the-data.html (checked 2026-11-07)
