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International Journal of Public Opinion Research Advance Access published online on March 13, 2006
International Journal of Public Opinion Research, doi:10.1093/ijpor/edl002
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The World Association for Public Opinion Research. All rights reserved.
Received March 23, 2005
Accepted December 14, 2005

Article

Reliability and Validity of Real-Time Response Measurement: A Comparison of Two Studies of a Televised Debate in Germany

Jürgen Maier 1 *, Marcus Maurer 2, Carsten Reinemann 3, and Thorsten Faas 4

1 Jürgen Maier is a Professor at the Department of Methods of Empirical Social Research at the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany
2 Marcus Maurer is an Assistant Professor at the Institut für Publizistik at the University of Mainz, Germany
3 Carsten Reinemann is an Assistant Professor at the Institut für Publizistik at the University of Mainz, Germany
4 Thorsten Faas is a research associate at the Department of Political Science at the University of Duisburg-Essen

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Jürgen Maier, E-mail: maier{at}sowi.uni-kl.de


  Abstract

This paper investigates the reliability and validity of real-time response measurements (RTR). It is based on a comparison of two quasi-experimental studies independently conducted on the second televised debate of the two major candidates for chancellor in the 2002 German federal election campaign. Participants in Bamberg and Mainz--two mid-sized German cities--followed the debate on a large-scale screen. The viewers’ immediate reactions to the candidates were measured in real-time. In terms of technicalities and substance, both quasi-experiments differed in several important respects. For example, the system used in Mainz was based on a control unit with a 7-point scale and yielded one merged metric dimension for both candidates. The Bamberg system measured positive and negative impressions of the candidates independently, yielding categorical data. Despite these operational differences, the results show that both methods render reliable results that also meet the criteria of face, construct, and criterion validity. Hence, RTR measurements provide valuable, unique insights into subjective immediate reactions to candidates in televised debates and help to explain post-debate perceptions and attitudes.


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