Welcome to the web site of the Houston Area Survey (HAS), which has now completed 27 years of systematic survey research, conducted in the early spring of every year since 1982. The latest findings from the 2008 survey are now in the process of being incorporated into the compilation of "All Survey Questions."

Click here for a brief description of the purpose and methodology of this continuing research program.

Click here (All Survey Questions) for a compilation of virtually all the questions that have ever been asked in the Houston surveys across the first 27 years (1982-2008), along with the distribution of responses obtained from successive representative samples of Harris County residents. The items are presented in their exact wording, with an indication (in parentheses) of the year(s) when the question was included. Clicking on the variable name associated with the question will give the distribution (by percentage) of the responses obtained in each of the survey years, with the number of respondents in each year given in parentheses.

Click here (Current PowerPoint) to download the most recent PowerPoint presentation, which depicts some of the important trends the surveys have revealed, including the 2008 survey.

Click here (The 2007 Report) to download an 18-page summary of the data and accompanying charts presenting the most important new findings from the 2007 survey.

Click here (Immigration Attitudes, 2008) to download a 10-page report on the shifts in public attitudes toward immigration issues, as revealed in the 2008 Houston Area Survey.

Click here (Previous Research Reports) for downloadable files of an executive summary of the 1996 report that describes the first-ever survey of Houston’s Asian communities, and a report  containing the 32-page published manuscript on the expanded 2002 survey, which also focused on the experiences and perceptions of Houston’s four major ethnic communities.

This link also presents the newest and by far the most  comprehensive report, summarizing the most important changes in demographic patterns and public attitudes across the first 24 years of Houston surveys ("Public Perceptions in Remarkable Times," 2005). Also available here is the report on the first systematic study of the six major sectors of the greater Houston area ("Regional Perspectives," 2007).

These reports can be downloaded here as pdf files, and printed copies may be obtained by calling Rice University's Center on Race, Religion and Urban Life (CORRUL) at 713-348-4225.

Click here (Other Publications) for an updated list of additional articles, book chapters, reports, and manuscripts that have presented the survey findings and are available on request.

Click here (Research Opportunities) to learn about two programs associated with the Houston Area Survey: (a) the regular two-year HAS post-doctoral research fellowship in the sociology department at Rice University, and (b) the “HAS Summer Fellowships,” which offer stipends to encourage and support graduate student research using the data from these surveys.

Click here (Contributing Sponsors) for a list of the organizations and individuals whose vision and generosity have made this research possible.

Click here (Contact) to reach Stephen L. Klineberg, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology at Rice University and the founding-director of the annual Houston Area Survey. This is the email address to contact for further information about the surveys, to order copies of any of the HAS publications, or for the SPSS data files themselves. Click here for more information on the available data files