THE PULSE OF EUROPE : About This Survey--and This World Report

“The Pulse of Europe” is based on an 18-month survey of public opinion in Western Europe, Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union commissioned by the Times Mirror Center for The People & The Press, headquarters for Times Mirror’s continuing series of public opinion surveys on issues relating to the press, politics, and public policy. It was undertaken to assess the basic beliefs, political values and opinions of the European population as it experiences and adapts to the end of the Cold War and the continuing economic integration of Europe.

The 300-page survey draws upon several sources. Most important was a poll involving 13,000 personal interviews conducted between the third week of April and June, 1991, in nine European nations and three Soviet republics. (Lithuania was not yet fully independent at that time.) The samples in each country and republic were nationally representative of the adult populations of those political entities. A follow-up poll involving 1,035 telephone interviews in Moscow and Leningrad was conducted Sept. 1-3, 1991, to assess the impact of last month’s dramatic coup attempt and subsequent events in the Soviet Union.

In addition to the polls, a Times Mirror research team conducted far-ranging round-table discussions with 34 “focus groups” in 18 cities and towns of Germany, Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. More than 500 people participated in these videotaped sessions. Finally, members of the research team conducted in-depth, individual interviews with European politicians, academic leaders, journalists and citizens.

The survey research team consisted of Times Mirror center director Donald S. Kellerman; director of surveys Andrew Kohut; survey consultant Madeleine Albright, professor of international relations at Georgetown University and president of the Center for National Policy; Robert C. Toth, a national security correspondent for the Los Angeles Times; Tyler Marshall, The Times’ Berlin bureau chief; Stanley Meisler, The Times’ United Nations correspondent and Carol Bowman, center research director.

Summaries of the principal chapters of the Times Mirror survey, which appear in the center pullout section of this special World Report edition, were written by Los Angeles-based Times staff writers Paul Lieberman and Bob Baker.

Others who contributed to this report: Section coordinator: Terry Schwadron; World Report editor: Dan Fisher; News editor: Jon Thurber; Design director: Tom Trapnell; Art director: Ligaya Gritz; Principal artists: Sandy Kay, Victor Kotowitz.