Longitudinal data on (political) news consumption and political attitudes in a German sample collected during the election year 2021

Abstract

The present data set contains self-report data of German individuals participating in a longitudinal data assessment via online surveys conducted in the year preceeding the general elections in Germany. Data of N = 122 individuals are included in the data set. Those individuals participated in an initial, extensive survey between November 2020 and February 2021 (T1) as well as in a final survey after the general German elections, thus, between the end of September 2021 and October 2021 (T3). Of those individuals, n = 93 additionally participated in an intermediate survey in between the previously mentioned ones between the end of May and the end of June 2021 (T2). Next to the assessment of sociodemographic variables, information on (political) news consumption, such as the frequency of being confronted with counter-attitudinal news, and on political attitudes, for example via current voting intentions for one of the major German parties, were assessed in the initial survey (T1). In the intermediate survey (T2), participants provided information on recent political news consumption habits including the frequency of being confronted with counter-attitudinal news, current voting intentions for one of the major German parties, as well as on extraordinary events that happened recently and impacted their voting intentions. In the final survey (T3), sociodemographic variables and actual voting decisions in the general German elections in 2021 were assessed. Moreover, variables on recent political news consumption habits, including the frequency of being confronted with counter-attitudinal news, and extraordinary events that happened recently and impacted voting decisions were assessed. Finally, a detailed self-report questionnaire retrospectively assessing political news consumption for the time between participation in the initial survey (T1) and the final survey (T3) was completed by participants. Not only did this questionnaire assess which online and offline news channels (e.g., TV, print, news websites) participants used. Besides, the questionnaire included items on how many outlets per channel were used and the frequency of being confronted with counter-attitudinal news within each channel. This data set is provided alongside the present article to be used for further investigations of the stability of voting intentions, thus, political attitudes. Moreover, a content analysis of the open responses on which extraordinary events happened and impacted voting intentions/decisions can provide further knowledge on factors influencing voting intentions and their variability versus stability.