Data

Methodology

The Civic Participation in China Survey (CPCS) utilizes stratified, random sampling techniques, and mainly surveys six urban centers in mainland China: Beijing, Changsha, Kunming, Luzhou, Shanghai, and Wuhan. These urban areas span China’s regional spectrum and vary in terms of both population size and local GDP. 

CPCS 2018 data was collected in October 2018 (N = 1,402), CPCS 2020 data was collected between December 2019 and February 2020 (N = 4,999), CPCS 2022 data was collected between December 2021 and February 2022 (N = 5,003), and CPCS 2024 data was collected between December 2023 and March 2024 (N = 5,012).

IP addresses served as unique identifiers to ensure that the same individuals were not taking the survey more than once. Further, it reduced the potential for clustering amongst individuals and promoted a stratified sampling methodology. Validity was determined based on completeness, meaning that invalid surveys left one or more required questions incomplete. It should be acknowledged that this standard survey administration practice has the small potential to add bias in the results. Despite concerns about using online surveys, such as the ability to have representative samples, web-based surveys can be as dependable as face-to-face surveys and might help gather data that may be otherwise inaccessible in an authoritarian context.

The CPCS involves both multiple choice and ranking questions. Key individual demographic information gathered by the survey included age, gender, number of children, city, and Communist Party membership. In addition, key socio-economic information collected included level of education, occupation and individual/household income. Due to potential sampling variances between the various CPCS waves and the national profile of urban residents – as elucidated in the National Bureau of Statistics of China’s 2018 Statistical Yearbook – results were tested using both weighted and unweighted demographic variables. There were no significant variations.

Data Availability

Please note that the raw data files for CPCS 2018, 2020 and 2022 are available upon request from the CPCS Administrator. The CPCS 2024 raw data will be publicly available from approximately mid-2025 onwards.  

Attribution

Please feel free to use any information and data points from the CPCS project, with the caveat proper attribution is duly noted.  The CPCS data can be cited as follows:

CPCS 2018

Hasmath, R., Hildebrandt, T., Hsu, C., Hsu, J. and Teets, J. (2018) Civic Participation in China Survey, 2018. Available at: https://www.civicparticipationchina.com

CPCS 2020

Hasmath, R., Hildebrandt, T., Hsu, C., Hsu, J. and Teets, J. (2020) Civic Participation in China Survey, 2020. Available at: https://www.civicparticipationchina.com

CPCS 2022

Hasmath, R., Hildebrandt, T., Hsu, C., Hsu, J. and Teets, J. (2022) Civic Participation in China Survey, 2022. Available at: https://www.civicparticipationchina.com

CPCS 2024

Hasmath, R., Hildebrandt, T., Hsu, C., Hsu, J. and Teets, J. (2024) Civic Participation in China Survey, 2024. Available at: https://www.civicparticipationchina.com