Middletown Area Studies

Between 1978 and 2004, sociologists Steven Johnson, Joseph Tamney, as well as other researchers affiliated with Ball State University, conducted the Middletown Area Studies. These annual surveys were sponsored by Ball State’s College of Sciences and Humanities and the Center for Middletown Studies. The purpose of these studies was to assess the views and lifestyles of citizens on a diverse range of subjects. The major topics included questions on life satisfaction, education, income, family, religion, and politics.

The data from these surveys, including the codebooks, is available through Ball State University Archives and Special Collections. The data is also available online through the Association of Religion Data Archives, which also lists of some of the dozens of publications that have relied on it.