Public opinion research in Slovakia – Research No. 18 (February 1950) Výskum verejnej mienky na Slovensku – Výskum č. 18 (Február 1950) SASD 1950002 Michal Malatinec

Slovak National Archives

Michal Malatinec SASD 2026 2026-09-17 Nesstar Publisher Slovak Archive of Social Data Public opinion research in Slovakia – Research No. 18 (February 1950) Výskum verejnej mienky na Slovensku – Výskum č. 18 (Február 1950) SASD 1950002 Public Opinion Research Institute in Bratislava Public Opinion Research Institute in Bratislava Nesstar Publisher Vega VEGA2/0068/23 (https://sociologia.sav.sk/vyskumne_projekty.php?id=3290 ) Slovak Archive of Social Data 1 Ústav pre výskum verejnej mienky v Bratislave. (2026). Výskum verejnej mienky na Slovensku – Výskum č. 18 (Február 1950) (Version 1) [Dataset]. Slovenský archív sociálnych dát (SASD), Sociologický ústav SAV. https://doi.org/10.34877/SASD_1950002 free market supply of goods clothing ration book production and delivery contracts contingents Unified Agricultural Cooperatives radio newspaper Pravda world peace POLITICS ECONOMICS SOCIETY AND CULTURE The research is the 18th conducted by the Institute for Public Opinion Research in Bratislava, which was the workplace of the Office of Information (Povereníctvo informácií) from 1947 to 1950. The research was carried out on 22 February 1950 and covers the following topics: assessment of free-market supply following the reduction in prices and the expansion of the retail network; assessment of the new clothing ration book (šatenka) as a tool for textile supply; attitudes toward this year's allocation of production and delivery contracts (contingents), including reasons for disagreement; awareness of Unified Agricultural Cooperatives (JRD) and the expected effect of JRD on the lives of small and medium-sized farmers; preferred source of news (newspapers or radio) and the reasons for that preference; regularity of listening to news on Czechoslovak radio and suggestions for improving it; readership of the newspaper Pravda and suggestions for improving it; and finally, assessment of the balance of power between the world forces of peace and the forces of warmongers. SASD provides a reconstruction of the research results, based on the final report prepared for government authorities. Neither the data nor the original questionnaire are available; SASD offers a reconstruction of the questions used in the questionnaire, and the basic results from the research are accessible online in an Excel file. The research was carried out using a purposive (non-random) sample designed to reflect, as closely as possible, the estimated structure of the population of Slovak society at the time. Since this was the post-war period and the last full population census had been carried out in 1930, with the next one not until 1951, quota sampling in the strict sense could not be used. The characteristics of the sample nonetheless suggest that, on several attributes, it corresponds to the structure of Slovak society at the time of the nearest census in 1951. Unlike some earlier studies, this sample also records respondents' political affiliation (KSS members, unaffiliated, not determined, SNO/SS). 1950-01-22 1950-02-22 Slovakia Individual Population of Slovakia aged 18 and over Quota sampling Face-to-face interview Purposive (non-random) sampling, attempting to capture the diversity of the Slovak population in terms of sex, occupation, age, nationality, religious denomination, and political affiliation. The research was carried out through personal interviews conducted by approximately 200 external interviewers of the Institute, who mostly worked as educational and cultural workers in Slovakia. Interviewers were trained in the research method in writing and through informational brochures. Interviewers received questionnaires by post, together with instructions on which respondents to seek out in their area. Completed questionnaires were sent back by the interviewers by post. Face-to-face interview Structured questionnaire with both closed and open-ended questions. Slovak Archive of Social Data (SASD) The data are freely available for scientific and research purposes with attribution to the source. When using this data, please cite the source using the bibliographic citation provided. The data and questionnaire have not survived in their original form. SASD provides a reconstruction based on the final report. SASD is not responsible for any inaccuracies arising from the reconstruction of missing parts of the original document. SASD - data catalogue Public Opinion Research No. 17 (SASD 1950001) Public Opinion Research No. 16 (SASD 1949009) ELSST Thesaurus (Version 6 - 2025): https://thesauri.cessda.eu CESSDA Topic Classification: https://vocabularies.cessda.eu CoreTrustSeal certification criteria: https://www.coretrustseal.org DDI (Data Documentation Initiative) 2.5: https://ddialliance.org sasd_1950002_data_en 1263 19 NSDstat Dataset 1 (English variable and value labels). QUESTION 1: FREE-MARKET SHOPPING Question 1. "Following the reduction of prices on the free market and the expansion of the retail network since 1 January this year, are you buying more on the free market, or less than last year?" (1 – More; 2 – The same; 3 – Less; 4 – Don't know; 5 – No answer) Base for percentage calculation: total number of respondents. 0 0 QUESTION 2: NEW CLOTHING RATION BOOK – ASSESSMENT OF TEXTILE SUPPLY Question 2. "Do you consider the new clothing ration book (šatenka) to be an improvement in the supply of textiles compared to last year, or not?" (1 – An improvement; 2 – No; 3 – Don't know) Base for percentage calculation: total number of respondents. 0 0 QUESTION 3: ASSESSMENT OF THE PRODUCTION AND DELIVERY CONTRACT ALLOCATION Question 3. "Do you consider this year's allocation of production and delivery contracts (contingents) to be fair, or not?" (1 – Fair; 2 – No; 3 – Don't know) Base for percentage calculation: total number of respondents. 0 0 QUESTION 3/A: REASONS FOR DISAGREEING WITH THE CONTRACT ALLOCATION Question 3/A. (Those who answered "No" in Question 3.) "If not, why?" (1 – Because of the size of the contingents (quotas); 2 – Because of an unfair allocation; 3 – Better without obligations; 4 – Other; 5 – Don't know) Base for percentage calculation: total number of respondents. 0 0 QUESTION 3/A: REASONS FOR DISAGREEING WITH THE CONTRACT ALLOCATION – OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES ("OTHER" CATEGORY) Question 3/A – supplementary list. Free-form responses from respondents coded under 4 ("Other"). Open-ended question – responses recorded as free-form verbatim statements. 0 0 See the full transcription in the Excel file, sheet "Otázka 3-A". QUESTION 4: AWARENESS OF UNIFIED AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES (JRD) Question 4. "Do you know what Unified Agricultural Cooperatives (JRD) are, or not?" (1 – Yes, I know; 2 – I don't know) Base for percentage calculation: total number of respondents. The original document also lists a comparison with Research No. 16 (December 1949) on a similar question; these comparison values are given in the Excel file in parentheses within the same cell as the main value. 0 0 QUESTION 4/A: EXPECTED EFFECT OF JRD ON FARMERS' LIVES Question 4/A. (Those who answered "Yes, I know" in Question 4.) "In your opinion, will the JRD improve the life of our small and medium-sized farmers, or not?" (1 – It will improve it; 2 – No; 3 – Don't know) Base for percentage calculation: total number of respondents; the "Total" column in the results table corresponds to the share who answered "Yes, I know" in Question 4. The original document also lists a comparison with Research No. 16 (December 1949); these comparison values are given in the Excel file in parentheses within the same cell as the main value. 0 0 QUESTION 5: PREFERRED NEWS SOURCE – NEWSPAPERS VS. RADIO Question 5. "How do you prefer to get news: from newspapers, or from the radio?" (1 – From newspapers; 2 – From the radio; 3 – Don't know) Base for percentage calculation: total number of respondents. 0 0 QUESTION 5/A: REASONS FOR PREFERRING NEWSPAPERS Question 5/A. (Those who answered "From newspapers" in Question 5.) "If you prefer newspapers, why?" (1 – Because I don't have a radio receiver; 2 – Because I'm not tied to a fixed time; 3 – I prefer to read; 4 – They are more detailed and thorough; 5 – For variety of reading; 6 – Other; 7 – Don't know) Base for percentage calculation: total number of respondents. 0 0 QUESTION 5/A: REASONS FOR PREFERRING NEWSPAPERS – OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES ("OTHER" CATEGORY) Question 5/A – supplementary list. Free-form responses from respondents coded under 6 ("Other"). Open-ended question – responses recorded as free-form verbatim statements. 0 0 See the full transcription in the Excel file, sheet "Otázka 5-A". QUESTION 5/B: REASONS FOR PREFERRING THE RADIO Question 5/B. (Those who answered "From the radio" in Question 5.) "If you prefer the radio, why?" (1 – I prefer to listen; 2 – Fresher news; 3 – Can listen while working; 4 – They are more concise; 5 – Has a radio receiver; 6 – Other; 7 – Don't know) Base for percentage calculation: total number of respondents. 0 0 QUESTION 5/B: REASONS FOR PREFERRING THE RADIO – OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES ("OTHER" CATEGORY) Question 5/B – supplementary list. Free-form responses from respondents coded under 6 ("Other"). Open-ended question – responses recorded as free-form verbatim statements. 0 0 See the full transcription in the Excel file, sheet "Otázka 5-B". QUESTION 6: REGULARITY OF LISTENING TO RADIO NEWS Question 6. "Do you listen to the news on our radio regularly?" (1 – Regularly; 2 – Irregularly; 3 – Never listens) Base for percentage calculation: total number of respondents. 0 0 QUESTION 6/A: SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING RADIO NEWS Question 6/A. (Those who answered "Regularly" or "Irregularly" in Question 6.) "What would you like to see improved or added in these news broadcasts?" (1 – Satisfied as is; 2 – Less propaganda; 3 – More news from abroad; 4 – More music and entertainment programming; 5 – More expert lectures; 6 – Other; 7 – Don't know; 8 – No answer) Base for percentage calculation: total number of respondents. 0 0 QUESTION 6/A: SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING RADIO NEWS – OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES ("OTHER" CATEGORY) Question 6/A – supplementary list. Free-form responses from respondents coded under 6 ("Other"). Open-ended question – responses recorded as free-form verbatim statements. 0 0 See the full transcription in the Excel file, sheet "Otázka 6-A". QUESTION 7: READERSHIP OF THE NEWSPAPER PRAVDA Question 7. "Do you read the newspaper Pravda regularly, occasionally, or never?" (1 – Regularly; 2 – Occasionally; 3 – Never) Base for percentage calculation: total number of respondents. 0 0 QUESTION 7/A: SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING PRAVDA Question 7/A. (Those who answered "Regularly" or "Occasionally" in Question 7.) "If you read Pravda: what would you like to see improved in it?" (1 – Satisfied as is; 2 – More objectivity; 3 – More news from abroad; 4 – On economic and agricultural matters; 5 – From cultural and social life; 6 – On sports; 7 – Other; 8 – Don't know; 9 – No answer) Base for percentage calculation: total number of respondents. 0 0 QUESTION 7/A: SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING PRAVDA – OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES ("OTHER" CATEGORY) Question 7/A – supplementary list. Free-form responses from respondents coded under 7 ("Other"). Open-ended question – responses recorded as free-form verbatim statements. 0 0 See the full transcription in the Excel file, sheet "Otázka 7-A". QUESTION 8: ASSESSMENT OF THE WORLD FORCES OF PEACE Question 8. "In your opinion, are the world forces of peace today stronger or weaker than the forces of warmongers?" (1 – Stronger; 2 – Weaker; 3 – Don't know) Base for percentage calculation: total number of respondents. 0 0 revised questionnaire