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Title:
Northern Ireland Assembly Election Survey, 2003

Subject Categories:
Election and campaign studies - Politics
Political behaviour and attitudes - Politics

Depositor(s):
Devine, P., Queen's University of Belfast. School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work

Principal Investigator(s):
Hayes, B.C., University of Aberdeen. Department of Sociology
Dowds, L., University of Ulster. International Conflict Research (INCORE)
Mitchell, P., London School of Economics and Political Science. Department of Government
Evans, G., University of Oxford. Department of Politics and International Relations. Centre for Research Methods in the Social Sciences

Sponsor(s):
Economic and Social Research Council

Other Acknowledgements:
Brendan O'Leary and Ian McAllister (fellow members of the project team)

Abstract:
The 2003 second election to the Northern Ireland Assembly made history simply through the fact that the Assembly had remained in existence (even if suspended) long enough to justify a second election. None of the other conventions, forums or assemblies for Northern Ireland introduced since 1972 had managed to do so. Given the difficulties of sustaining devolved government, this was no small feat, and thus presented a unique opportunity to reassess political attitudes and the changing fortunes of the parties, after five years of the British-Irish Agreement. While much has been written about the panoply of new institutions derived from the Agreement, if they are to work they must ultimately have some electoral underpinning and continued validation. The Assembly elections of 1998 constituted a new beginning for Northern Ireland because, for the first time since 1973, they were about electing an Assembly, and indirectly an Executive, in the changed context where local politicians had been empowered to govern important policy jurisdictions (with other functional areas to follow if cross-community consent proved viable).

One crucial task of the Northern Ireland Assembly Election Survey, 2003 was to examine changing voting behaviour between the 1998 and 2003 elections, and the potential effect that this would have on the Assembly and related institutions. The survey involved 1,000 face-to-face interviews with adults aged 18 years or over, and also included a self-completion element.

A previous study, the Northern Ireland Referendum and Election Study, 1998 which covered the 1998 Assembly election, is held at the UK Data Archive (UKDA) under SN 5442.


Main Topics:
Topics covered included questions about the referendum held in May 1998, knowledge of and attitudes towards the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive, the Assembly election of 2003, and respondents' demographic details.

Coverage:
Dates of Fieldwork: November 2003-January 2004
Country: Northern Ireland
Spatial Units: Northern Ireland Assembly Constituencies
Observation Units: Individuals
Kind of Data: Numeric data; Individual (micro) level

Universe Sampled:
Location of Units of Observation:National
Population:Adults aged 18 years or over in Northern Ireland

Methodology:
Time Dimensions: Cross-sectional (one-time) study
Sampling Procedures: Multi-stage stratified random sample
Method of Data Collection: Face-to-face interview; Self-completion
Weighting: Weighting used. See documentation for details

Language(s) of Written Materials:
Study Description: English
Study Documentation: English

Access:
Access Conditions: The depositor has specified that registration is required. Available to all registered users. The depositor may be informed about usage.
Availability: ESDS Access and Preservation, UK Data Archive
Contact: Help desk: help@esds.ac.uk

Date of Release:
First Edition: 7 July 2006

Copyright:
Copyright L. Dowds and B. Hayes

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