The Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey
The NASIS is an omnibus survey where a representative sample of Nebraskans are asked to give their opinion on a variety of topics and issues. Participants are ages 19 and older selected randomly from across the state.
This survey is a product of the Bureau of Sociological Research of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln working in collaboration with state agencies and other educational and research organizations. The data are used by a wide range of organizations for policy and program planning and by the faculty and students of the University of Nebraska for research.
The NASIS was historically conducted via landline telephone. Rising costs and decreasing response rates have led to the survey branching into new modes. For the last decade, the NASIS has transformed into a mixed-mode study, combining mailing and web-based methodologies.
“I love focusing on the core information I need and having BOSR expertise and high-quality team help me to get the data. They provide fantastic suggestions for improving response rates and helping survey participants to easily and accurately answer questions. BOSR has helped with national longitudinal surveys, just-in-time web-based surveys during COVID, and affordable and useful NASIS data that has led to numerous publications and external funding.”
Julia McQuillan, UNL Professor of Sociology
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NASIS invitations are mailed out to selected households. -
Selected households can complete the survey online.
Using NASIS Data for Your Research
NASIS provides government, nonprofit agencies, and academic researchers a cost-effective means of obtaining data from a survey conducted with the highest scientific standards of social research. Researchers purchase the amount of space they need to include their questions of interest. This can range from one question to multiple pages of questions. Costs vary from year to year depending on the number of researchers who buy space and the amount of survey space that is purchased each year, but researchers can use $7,500 a page as an estimate for budgeting. The number of questions clients can fit on a page varies based on how the items are formatted. BOSR works with each researcher to optimally organize their purchased space. Each researcher then gets the data for their purchased questions and the core items (see below). Many BOSR clients choose to analyze the data themselves. As a result, the estimated amount does not include reporting. BOSR can assist NASIS researchers with analyzing their purchased questions and writing reports for an additional fee.
Core Items
The NASIS survey varies from year to year depending on client needs, but every year a core group of items consisting of common demographics and quality of life measures are included. These include, for example, age, sex, education, and community satisfaction (for a complete list, see below). These items are asked each year to provide key demographic information to all users of NASIS as well as comparability to other social indicator information.
The core items were reduced in 2018 in an effort to keep NASIS costs as low as possible and reduce respondent burden. Researchers are able to add previous core items back into the NASIS as part of their purchased space.
Previous Core Items
BOSR provides a PDF archive of core items that were part of the NASIS in previous years.
NebrASKa Voices
NebrASKa Voices is a panel made up of a random sample of Nebraskans managed by the Bureau of Sociological Research (BOSR) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Panel members are recruited to participate in future research studies and discuss their opinions or experiences as a Nebraska resident.
See NebrASKa VoicesFor more information about using the NASIS in your research, please contact:
Bureau of Sociological Research (BOSR)
bosr@unl.edu
402-472-3672
NASIS Summer Timeline
“I have worked with BOSR for several years via putting questions on the Nebraska Annual Social Indicator Survey. NASIS is a unique opportunity for UNL researchers and BOSR provided wonderful services. BOSR staff helped design the questions, the data was delivered in a timely manner, and BOSR staff answered all follow-up questions. I have been very successful in publishing from the NASIS data and highly recommend BOSR!”
Emily Kazyak, UNL Professor of Sociology
NASIS Winter Timeline
Methodology Reports
NASIS has been conducted annually since 1977. Methodology reports detailing how the survey was conducted are available online for the 2014 administration to the present. Please contact BOSR if you are interested in a methodology report that is not available online.
See the Methodology Report ArchiveQuestionnaires
All previous questionnaires used in the NASIS are available to interested researchers; questionnaires from 2014 to the present are available online. While core questions remain largely the same from year to year, the overall questionnaire changes because researchers purchase administration of their own questions. Please contact BOSR if you are interested in a questionnaire that is not available online.
See Previous QuestionnairesPublic Data Sets
NASIS data become publicly available one year after the data are delivered to clients. This allows our clients time to utilize the data as they intended before it is available to the public.
Data from previous NASIS administrations is available for interested researchers upon request. Researchers external to the University will need to sign a data agreement form before the data can be shared.
Learn about Previous Datasets