The California Survey of AIDS Knowledge, Attitudes and Behavior: 1988 gathered data on 311 variables through a telephone survey of California adults for the purpose of forecasting the course of the AIDS epidemic and planning risk reduction programs in the State of California. The study consisted of 4,661 telephone interviews with a household probability sample of California adults aged 18 and over. Data collection employed stratified random sampling with over-sampling in geographic areas with identified high risk-group populations. Augmented data collection was employed for three risk-groups: (1) gay-identifying men, (2) multiple/high-risk partner heterosexuals, and (3) recreational drug users. Interviews were conducted from September 30, 1988 through December 13, 1988.

Data collected in this survey permit comparisons to the California Survey of AIDS Knowledge, Attitudes and Behavior, (KABB), conducted in 1987, which has been archived as Sociometrics AIDS/STI Data Archive Dataset 01. However, the population stratification design employed in 1987 differed from that utilized in 1988, and some differences in results between the surveys may be attributable to this variation in methodology.

The 1988 data collection program had four major objectives: