Survey and administrative data for public use.
DALES conducts field surveys and works with administrative data on elections, public opinion, welfare, state capacity, and social change in India. This is the entry point for our datasets, questionnaires, codebooks, and study pages.
Two main survey streams.
Start with the national Indian Election Study or browse state-level election studies. Each study page is structured around scope, documents, and data access.
Indian Election Study
A national post-poll survey for studying electoral behaviour, public opinion, welfare, citizenship, media, and democratic life.
State Election Studies
State-level post-poll surveys connecting voting, welfare delivery, local institutions, and public opinion across changing regions.
Other datasets
Additional public opinion, urban change, state capacity, and commissioned research datasets will be added as documentation is finalized.
From fieldwork to documentation.
Each dataset is meant to be understandable beyond the team that collected it.
Design
Questionnaires and samples are designed around specific research questions and field conditions.
Fieldwork
Survey teams conduct interviews using structured protocols and quality checks.
Release
Datasets are accompanied by documentation, codebooks, and access notes wherever possible.
Looking for a dataset, questionnaire, or codebook?
Use the data request form and tell us which study you need. We will route the request to the right dataset and documentation.