The GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings. The GSS takes the pulse of America, and is a unique and valuable resource. It has tracked the opinions of Americans over the last four decades.
Trends
The GSS is widely regarded as the single best source of data on societal trends. The 1972-2008 GSS has 5,364 variables, time-trends for 1,988 variables, and 257 trends having 20+ data points. You can find links to pre-generated trends or create your own tables in NESSTAR (1972-2006) and SDA (1972-2008). To generate your own trends in the NESSTAR cross-tabulation function, add the variable you would like to analyze to "rows" and then add the variable YEAR to "columns". To generate time-trends in SDA (1972-2008) using its cross-tabulation program, specify the variable you would like to analyze as a "column" variable, and then specify the variable YEAR as the "row" variable, and request percentaging by rows (instead of columns).
Cross-National Data
Since 1982 the GSS has had a Cross-National component. In 1982 and 1984 there were bilateral collaborations between the GSS and the Allgemeinen Bevolkerungsumfragen der Socialwissenschaften (ALLBUS) at the Zentrum fuer Umfragen, Methoden, und Analysen (ZUMA) in Germany. Since 1985 the cross-national module has been developed as part of the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) which was organized by Australia, Great Britain, West Germany, and the United States. The ISSP currently has 46 members.