The Unheavenly Chorus (2012)—Replication Archive

Summary:  View help for Summary This archive provides the necessary syntax and data files to replicate findings in the 2012 book, “The Unheavenly Chorus:  Unequal Political Voice and the Broken Promise of American Democracy,” by Sidney Verba, Kay Lehman Schlozman, and Henry E. Brady. Chapters 1, 5, 7, 6, 8, 9, 15, and 16 of “The Unheavenly Chorus” include findings generated from the data sources listed below. For each of these chapters, the archive includes SPSS syntax with step-by-step instructions for replicating findings. In most cases, it requires downloading original data from the sources noted:  

• 1960 Civic Culture Study (persistent URL: http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR07201.v2) 
• 1967 Political Participation in America (persistent URL: http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR07015.v1) 
• 1990 American Citizen Participation Study (persistent URL: http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR06635.v1) and screener study (persistent URL: http://doi.org/10.3886/E100384V1)
• 2005 Citizen, Involvement, and Democracy Study (persistent URL: http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR04607.v1) 
• 2004 Political Agendas and Citizen Engagement (PACES) Survey. The data file has been defined by the book's authors and can be found in this book’s archive. 
• 2008 Pew Internet and American Life Project (http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/15--The-Internet-and-Civic-Engagement.aspx) 
• American National Election Study (ANES): time series surveys from presidential election years 1952 to 2008 (http://www.electionstudies.org/) 
• Roper Social and Political Trends Data (1973-1994) from Roper Starch Worldwide and an updated Roper file (1973-2002).The cumulative data file has already been defined by the book's authors and can be found in this book’s archive.  

This replication archive includes the following folders and files:

+ ANES: This folder includes SPSS syntax files corresponding to American National Election Study surveys from each presidential election year between 1952 and 2008. It also includes three instructional syntax files. Open “ANES_Step1.sps” and follow the instruction from there to create a cumulative ANES data file. 

+ Chapter-syntax-files: This folder includes the following SPSS syntax files, which contain the necessary instructions to replicate findings in chapters 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 15, and 16.

• _Ch1_Intro.sps
• _Ch5_Unequal_Voice.sps
• _Ch6_Persistence_UnequalVoice.sps
• _Ch7_Unequal_Starting.sps
• _Ch8_Life_Cycle.sps
• _Ch9_Perspectives.sps
• _Ch15_Recruitment.sps
• _Ch16_Weapon_of_Strong.sps

+ Citizen-Participation: This folder includes the following SPSS syntax file, which contains the necessary instructions for linking the Citizen Participation Screener Survey to the follow-up face-to-face Citizen Participation interviews. 

• CitPart_Setup.sps

+ PACES.sav: This is the PACES data file defined by the book’s authors. 

+ Roper.sav: This is the cumulative Roper SPSS data file defined by the book’s authors. 

+ TUC Introduction.docx

About “The Unheavenly Chorus”:
“The Unheavenly Chorus” looks at the political participation of individual citizens alongside the political advocacy of thousands of organized interests—membership associations such as unions, professional associations, trade associations, and citizens groups, as well as organizations like corporations, hospitals, and universities. Drawing on numerous in-depth surveys of members of the public as well as the largest database of interest organizations ever created—representing more than thirty-five thousand organizations over a twenty-five-year period—this book conclusively demonstrates that American democracy is marred by deeply ingrained and persistent class-based political inequality. The well educated and affluent are active in many ways to make their voices heard, while the less advantaged are not. This book reveals how the political voices of organized interests are even less representative than those of individuals, how political advantage is handed down across generations, how recruitment to political activity perpetuates and exaggerates existing biases, how political voice on the Internet replicates these inequalities—and more.

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms campaign contributions; citizen attitudes; citizen participation; political activism; political affiliation; political campaigns; political interest; candidate campaigns; political participation; political protest; political voice; special interests; voting behavior

Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage United States

Universe:  View help for Universe Adults age 18 and older in the United States

Data Type(s):  View help for Data Type(s) census/enumeration data; other; survey data