Netherlands (1998) - Election Study Notes for Variables A3004-A3006 and A3009-A3012

We have been notified that for the CSES variable A3004, the question wording used in the 1998 Dutch Election Study differs somewhat from the question wording in the CSES Module 1 questionnaire. Analysts should be aware of the possibility that the following variables in the Netherlands (1998) data may not be comparable as a result:

    A3004    >>> ARE YOU CLOSE TO ANY POLITICAL PARTY
    A3005_1  >>> PARTY CLOSEST TO - 1ST MENTION
    A3005_2  >>> PARTY CLOSEST TO - 2ND MENTION
    A3005_3  >>> PARTY CLOSEST TO - 3RD MENTION
    A3006    >>> NUMBER OF PARTIES MENTIONED IN A3005
    A3009    >>> WHICH PARTY DO YOU FEEL CLOSEST TO
    A3010    >>> DO YOU FEEL CLOSER TO ONE PARTY
    A3011    >>> WHICH PARTY DO YOU FEEL CLOSER TO
    A3012    >>> DEGREE OF CLOSENESS TO THIS PARTY

We recommend that the following election study note be added to the codebook for the variables shown:

         | ELECTION STUDY NOTES - NETHERLANDS (1998): A3004-A3006, A3009-A3012
         |
         | The 1998 Dutch Election Study used the traditional Party ID question 
         | format for variable A3004, rather than the wording from the CSES 
         | Module 1 questionnaire.  Analysts should be aware of the 
         | possibility that variables A3004-A3006 and A3009-A3012 in the
         | Netherlands (1998) data may not be comparable as a result.
         |
         | The question wording from the 1998 Dutch Election Study:
         |
         | "Many people think of themselves as adherents to a particular
         | political party, but there are also people who do not think of
         | themselves as an adherent to a political party.  Do you think 
         | of yourself as an adherent or not as an adherent to a political
         | party?

Additionally, we recommend that the following election study note be added to variable A3012 in the codebook, for the sake of clarity:

         | ELECTION STUDY NOTES - NETHERLANDS (1998): A3012
         |
         | This question is asked of respondents who indicate that they feel 
         | close to a particular party in A3004, as well as of those respondents 
         | who initially indicate they do not feel close to a party in A3004, but
         | who later identify a party they feel closer to in A3011.  The latter 
         |set of respondents were not asked this item.