Home CodebooksLinks to Common Codebooks All Committees Codebook House Committees List Senate Committees List Joint Committees List Topic Codebook Links to Dataset Codebooks Budget- PDF (download) Budget- MS Word (download) Congressional Quarterly Executive Orders- MS Word (download) Hearings Most Important Problem- MS Word (download) New York Times Index Public Laws State of the Union - MS Word (download) Supreme Court Congressional Roll Call Votes - MS Word

Codebooks

Overview

Below are the links and descriptions of codebooks that accompany the datasets. These codebooks list and explain the values and codes in each column of the datasets.

There are two common codebooks that apply to multiple datasets: the Topic Codebook and the Committees Codebook. The Topics codebook details the Major Topic and Subtopic policy codes found in all the core datasets (excludes the Budget Authority dataset). The Committees Codebook explains the meaning of the Committee and Subcommittee codes in the Hearings, CQ Almanac, and Public Laws datasets.

Some of the codebooks may be downloaded in MS Word or Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. To read PDF documents you will need a copy of Acrobat Reader. You can download a copy of Acrobat Reader by clicking the button below.

Common Codebooks

Topics Codebook

The major topics and subtopics are the main feature tying all the Policy Agendas Project datasets together. There are 19 major topics each with several subtopics. Each of the topics and subtopics are assigned a unique number. See the topics codebook for more information.

Committee Codebook

Committee codes are found in the hearings, laws, and CQ almanac datasets. These codes identify the congressional committees that are associated with a particular record in each of the datasets. Each committee is assigned a unique number. See the all committee codebook for more information.

In addition to the comprehensive all committee codebook, there are several short lists providing brief information about the main Congressional Committees and their codes.

Dataset Codebooks

Budget Dataset Codebook

This data set provides annual data, adjusted for inflation, of U.S. Budget Authority from FY1947 through FY2006. Using Office of Management and Budget Functions and Subfunctions, we have revised the data to be consistent over time.

Budget Dataset Codebook [Word Doc - 303kb]
Budget Dataset Codebook [PDF* - 383kb]

Congressional Quarterly Dataset Codebook

CQ Almanac 1948-2002
This data set contains information from all articles in the main chapters of the CQ Almanac (1948 to 2003) (13,715 records). CQ Almanac articles typically cover one legislative initiative. When a CQ article contains information about several different public laws or bills, it is divided so that each record in our data set contains information about one legislative initiative. We code each record by our system of policy content codes. Several other variables concerning each legislative initiative (e.g., bill numbers, Public Law Number, if applicable, committees involved, primary sponsors, etc.) are also available. Identification variables link our records to the original CQ source material as well as to our Public Laws Data Set. A note of caution, article length has varied over the span of this dataset. Users should weight accordingly.

Hearings Dataset Codebook

CIS Abstracts 1946-2005
This data set contains information summarizing each U.S. Congressional hearing from 1947 to 2005 (83,337 hearings). Using the Congressional Information Service (CIS) Abstracts, we code each hearing by our system of policy content codes. The system includes 19 major topics and over 200 subtopics. Other variables, including committee and subcommittee, are also available. Identification variables link our records to the original CIS source material. Note: Research making use of the congressional hearings dataset should bear in mind that the hearings for the last year available on our website are incomplete. This is because there are commonly hearings for a given year that are not archived in the CIS for that year. The remainder of the hearings appears in the following CIS Volume. For example, the hearings for the year 1999 are not complete until we have collected and coded the CIS Volume for the year 2000. This means that the hearings for any given year are incomplete until we have have collected the data for the CIS Volume that follows.

New York Times Index Dataset Codebook

New York Times Index 1946-2003
This data set is a systematic random sample of the New York Times Index from 1946 to 2002 (over 37,000 records). The sample is the first entry on every odd-numbered page of the Index. Each entry is coded by the major topics from our system of policy content codes. Other variables include the length, date, and location of the story, whether it addressed government actions, etc.

Public Laws Dataset Codebook

U.S. Public Laws 1948-2004
This data set contains information about each public law passed from 1948 to 2004 (over 17,000 records). Each record is coded by our system of policy content categories and other variables. Identification variables allow linkage to the CQ Almanac data set.

Executive Orders Dataset Codebook

Presidential Executive Orders 1945-2003
This data set contains information about each executive order issued from 1945 to 2001 (3675 records). Each record is coded by our system of policy content categories and other variables. Other variables of interests included are the party of the president, whether the order was issued during a time of divided government, and whether the order was issued at the beginning or end of a presidential term.

Executive Orders Dataset Codebook [Word Doc - ?kb]

Gallup Most Important Problem Dataset Codebook

Gallup Most Important Problem (Public Opinion) 1947-2004
This data set contains the responses to Gallup's Most Important Problem facing the nation question from 1947 2004. For each poll taken the responses are coded by issue area. This worksheet captures the aggregated proportions for each major category, on an annual basis, for all of the polls contained in the working data set. The annual relative rankings of each issue area are also provided in the data set.

Most Important Problem Dataset Codebook [Word Doc - ?kb]

Presidential State of the Union Dataset Codebook

State of the Union Speeches 1946-2005
This data set contains the Presidential State of the Union speeches for every year since 1946. Each statement in the speech is coded based on its policy content. Other relevant issues, such as divided government among others, are coded in the dataset.

State of the Union Dataset Codebook [Word Doc - 27.5kb]

U.S. Supreme Court Codebook

Supreme Court Cases 1953 - 1998
This data set contains information on cases heard before the Supreme Court. It is the first comprehensive Supreme Court Dataset to approach the court from an agenda-setting perspective.

Supreme Court Codebook [Web Page]

Congressional Roll Call Voting Codebook

Roll Call Voting Records 1947-2000
This dataset contains information on roll call voting records for the House and Senate. Each vote is coded based on its policy topic. Data has been standardized.

Roll Call Voting Codebook [Word Doc]

Home CodebooksLinks to Common Codebooks All Committees Codebook House Committees List Senate Committees List Joint Committees List Topic Codebook Links to Dataset Codebooks Budget- PDF (download) Budget- MS Word (download) Congressional Quarterly Executive Orders- MS Word (download) Hearings Most Important Problem- MS Word (download) New York Times Index Public Laws State of the Union - MS Word (download) Supreme Court Congressional Roll Call Votes - MS Word		Codebooks Page Contents: Go to codebook and dataset description for: Budget Authority \| Committees Codebook \| Congressional Hearings \| Congressional Quarterly \| Executive Orders \| (Gallup, Public Opinion) Most-Important Problem \| New York Times \| Policy Topics Codebook \| Public Laws \| State of the Union \| Supreme Court \| Roll Call Votes Overview Below are the links and descriptions of codebooks that accompany the datasets. These codebooks list and explain the values and codes in each column of the datasets. There are two common codebooks that apply to multiple datasets: the Topic Codebook and the Committees Codebook. The Topics codebook details the Major Topic and Subtopic policy codes found in all the core datasets (excludes the Budget Authority dataset). The Committees Codebook explains the meaning of the Committee and Subcommittee codes in the Hearings, CQ Almanac, and Public Laws datasets. Some of the codebooks may be downloaded in MS Word or Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. To read PDF documents you will need a copy of Acrobat Reader. You can download a copy of Acrobat Reader by clicking the button below. Common Codebooks Topics Codebook The major topics and subtopics are the main feature tying all the Policy Agendas Project datasets together. There are 19 major topics each with several subtopics. Each of the topics and subtopics are assigned a unique number. See the topics codebook for more information. Committee Codebook Committee codes are found in the hearings, laws, and CQ almanac datasets. These codes identify the congressional committees that are associated with a particular record in each of the datasets. Each committee is assigned a unique number. See the all committee codebook for more information. In addition to the comprehensive all committee codebook, there are several short lists providing brief information about the main Congressional Committees and their codes. House Short List Senate Short List Joint Committees Short List Sortable Committee Table Dataset Codebooks Budget Dataset Codebook This data set provides annual data, adjusted for inflation, of U.S. Budget Authority from FY1947 through FY2006. Using Office of Management and Budget Functions and Subfunctions, we have revised the data to be consistent over time. Budget Dataset Codebook [Word Doc - 303kb] Budget Dataset Codebook [PDF* - 383kb] Congressional Quarterly Dataset Codebook CQ Almanac 1948-2002 This data set contains information from all articles in the main chapters of the CQ Almanac (1948 to 2003) (13,715 records). CQ Almanac articles typically cover one legislative initiative. When a CQ article contains information about several different public laws or bills, it is divided so that each record in our data set contains information about one legislative initiative. We code each record by our system of policy content codes. Several other variables concerning each legislative initiative (e.g., bill numbers, Public Law Number, if applicable, committees involved, primary sponsors, etc.) are also available. Identification variables link our records to the original CQ source material as well as to our Public Laws Data Set. A note of caution, article length has varied over the span of this dataset. Users should weight accordingly. Hearings Dataset Codebook CIS Abstracts 1946-2005 This data set contains information summarizing each U.S. Congressional hearing from 1947 to 2005 (83,337 hearings). Using the Congressional Information Service (CIS) Abstracts, we code each hearing by our system of policy content codes. The system includes 19 major topics and over 200 subtopics. Other variables, including committee and subcommittee, are also available. Identification variables link our records to the original CIS source material. Note: Research making use of the congressional hearings dataset should bear in mind that the hearings for the last year available on our website are incomplete. This is because there are commonly hearings for a given year that are not archived in the CIS for that year. The remainder of the hearings appears in the following CIS Volume. For example, the hearings for the year 1999 are not complete until we have collected and coded the CIS Volume for the year 2000. This means that the hearings for any given year are incomplete until we have have collected the data for the CIS Volume that follows. New York Times Index Dataset Codebook New York Times Index 1946-2003 This data set is a systematic random sample of the New York Times Index from 1946 to 2002 (over 37,000 records). The sample is the first entry on every odd-numbered page of the Index. Each entry is coded by the major topics from our system of policy content codes. Other variables include the length, date, and location of the story, whether it addressed government actions, etc. Public Laws Dataset Codebook U.S. Public Laws 1948-2004 This data set contains information about each public law passed from 1948 to 2004 (over 17,000 records). Each record is coded by our system of policy content categories and other variables. Identification variables allow linkage to the CQ Almanac data set. Executive Orders Dataset Codebook Presidential Executive Orders 1945-2003 This data set contains information about each executive order issued from 1945 to 2001 (3675 records). Each record is coded by our system of policy content categories and other variables. Other variables of interests included are the party of the president, whether the order was issued during a time of divided government, and whether the order was issued at the beginning or end of a presidential term. Executive Orders Dataset Codebook [Word Doc - ?kb] Gallup Most Important Problem Dataset Codebook Gallup Most Important Problem (Public Opinion) 1947-2004 This data set contains the responses to Gallup's Most Important Problem facing the nation question from 1947 2004. For each poll taken the responses are coded by issue area. This worksheet captures the aggregated proportions for each major category, on an annual basis, for all of the polls contained in the working data set. The annual relative rankings of each issue area are also provided in the data set. Most Important Problem Dataset Codebook [Word Doc - ?kb] Presidential State of the Union Dataset Codebook State of the Union Speeches 1946-2005 This data set contains the Presidential State of the Union speeches for every year since 1946. Each statement in the speech is coded based on its policy content. Other relevant issues, such as divided government among others, are coded in the dataset. State of the Union Dataset Codebook [Word Doc - 27.5kb] U.S. Supreme Court Codebook Supreme Court Cases 1953 - 1998 This data set contains information on cases heard before the Supreme Court. It is the first comprehensive Supreme Court Dataset to approach the court from an agenda-setting perspective. Supreme Court Codebook [Web Page] Congressional Roll Call Voting Codebook Roll Call Voting Records 1947-2000 This dataset contains information on roll call voting records for the House and Senate. Each vote is coded based on its policy topic. Data has been standardized. Roll Call Voting Codebook [Word Doc]

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