Below are topic definitions used in the "Topic" box in Advanced Searches. Note that you do not have to enter any topic when conducting Advanced Searches, although it may to help you limit your search.
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ABORTION: |
Abortion |
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AFRICA: |
Issues and events primarily involving sub-Saharan African countries, their leaders and people (other than the Middle East) |
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ALCOHOL: |
Alcoholic beverages; legal drinking age; drunk driving |
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BLACKS: |
Anything having to do with blacks as a group, including attitudes of blacks |
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BUSINESS: |
Business as a group/institution; businessmen; responsibilities to society and employees |
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CONFIDENCE: |
Confidence in government, business, labor, and other institutions |
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CONGRESS: |
Congress and its units; House of Representatives/Senate |
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CONSUMER: |
Issues involving consumers; purchases made/intended; products; services; consumer protection; reform |
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CULTURE: |
The arts, pop culture, music, movies |
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DEATH: |
Fear of; views of life after; euthanasia |
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ECONOMICS: |
National economy; free enterprise, federal budget deficit |
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EDUCATION: |
Education |
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ELDERLY: |
Needs and status of the elderly |
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ELECTIONS: |
Elections (other than presidential) and referenda; attitudes toward them |
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ENVIRONMENT: |
Environmental issues, including population control |
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EQUALITY: |
Equality of different groups; discrimination; affirmative action, ERA, civil rights |
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ETHICS: |
Ethics of individuals/groups; morals; honesty |
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FAMILY: |
Issues of the family; family status, including marriage and divorce, ideal number of children, family planning |
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FINANCES: |
Personal financial well-being; buying/selling decisions, e.g. can afford, enough money to pay bills |
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FUTURE: |
Expectations; projections |
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GOVERNMENT: |
Attitudes toward; assessments of government at federal, state or local level |
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GROUPS: |
Ratings; perceptions |
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HEALTH: |
Health status; health policy; spending on public health, smoking |
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HISPANICS: |
Anything having to do with Hispanics as a group |
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INFORMATION: |
Awareness of issues and candidates; historical and general knowledge |
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LEADERS: |
Assessments of famous persons or leaders; most admired persons; heroes |
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LOCAL: |
Governmental issues and other questions involving sub-state units |
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MEDICINE: |
Medical science and doctors, hospitals, nurses |
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MEN: |
Anything to do with men as a group |
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MINORITIES: |
All issues involving minorities, other than blacks and Hispanics; various ethnic issues; includes all racial, religious, ethnic and sexual preference minorities |
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NARCOTICS: |
Use of heroin, marijuana, etc.; attitudes toward illegal drugs |
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NUTRITION: |
Adequacy of diet; dieting; health foods; vitamins |
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PARTIES: |
Political parties as actors/objects of attitudes (other than self-described party identification) |
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PORNOGRAPHY: |
Sex in the movies and other media; pornography and children; pornography laws |
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PRESIDENCY: |
All issues involving the presidency and the policies of presidents and vice presidents (other than presidential election matters and presidential performance ratings) |
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PRESS: |
Perceptions and use of the communications media, including TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines |
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PROBLEMS: |
Most important problems facing the United States; problems most important to oneself; personal worries and concerns; parties and leaders best in meeting said problems; problems facing state/community/ family/schools etc. |
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RATINGS: |
All ratings, job scores, and other performance measures, except of the president and the vice president |
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REFORM: |
Assessments of proposed changes in political parties, campaign finance, governmental institutions, constitutional amendments |
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REGULATION: |
All issues of government regulation and deregulation |
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RETIREMENT: |
All issues relating to one's own retirement; retirement policy |
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RIGHTS: |
Civil liberties; human rights; privacy |
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SCIENCE: |
Science and research; technology, computers |
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SEX: |
Sexual conduct/morality; population control |
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SOCIAL: |
Social interactions; networks |
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SPENDING: |
Federal, state, and local government spending |
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STATES: |
Governmental issues and other questions involving states |
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TELEVISION: |
Television |
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URBAN: |
Needs; problems; status of cities; urban policies |
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VOTE FOR PRESIDENT: |
Presidential elections; vote intent; candidates; nominations; party platform |
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WELFARE: |
Attitudes toward and care for the poor, needy, handicapped |
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WOMEN: |
Anything having to do with women as a group; sex roles; equality |
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WORK: |
Work; job; occupation; career choices |
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YOUTH: |
Attitudes toward and of youth |
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