Australian Election Study

The Australian Election Study aims to provide a long-term perspective on stability and change in the political attitudes and behaviour of the Australian electorate, and investigate the changing social bases of Australian politics as the economy and society modernise and change character. In addition to these long-term goals they examine the political issues prevalent in the election and assess their importance for the election result. The studies have been running as a series of surveys beginning in 1987 that have been timed to coincide with Australian Federal elections. The series also builds on the 1967, 1969 and 1979 Australian Political Attitudes Surveys.

The Australian Election Study survey is directed by Professor Ian McAllister (Australian National University), Dr Jill Sheppard (Australian National University), Professor Clive Bean (Queensland University of Technology) and Professor Rachel Gibson (University of Leicester).

AES data holdings

The series now includes studies of the elections of 1987, 1990, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2010. Each study in the series includes two separate surveys:

• The Australian Election Study – a sample of Australian voters drawn from the Australian electoral roll
• The Australian Candidate Study – a survey of the candidates who stood for office during the election (Note: the Australian Candidate Study was not conducted in 1998).