International Journal of Public Opinion Research - recent issues

Editorial: Comparative Survey Research

Smith, T. W. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:27:21 PDT

Measuring the Quality of Real-Time Telephone Survey Interpreters

Link, M. W., Battaglia, M. P., Osborn, L., Frankel, M. R., Mokdad, A. H. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:27:21 PDT

Real-time interpretation during a survey can expand the number of languages in which surveys are offered. There are questions, however, about the quality of the interpretation process given that the interview is typically not pretranslated. A detailed assessment of the quality of this approach is provided using behavior-coding of interviews conducted with respondents who otherwise would have been finalized as "language barrier nonrespondents." Interviews were recorded and behavior-coded, quantifying for each question, (1) the accuracy of the interpretation of the question, (2) the accuracy of the interpreted response, (3) the degree of difficulty administering the question, (4) the number of times the question needed to be repeated, and (5) the number of times the interpreter and respondent engaged in dialogue that was not relayed to the interviewer. The approach produced favorable results, with less than a 4 percent error rate for interpretation of the questions and a 1.4 percent error rate in interpretation of survey responses.

Cross-national Comparability of Survey Attitude Measures

Heath, A., Martin, J., Spreckelsen, T. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:27:21 PDT

Many international surveys include batteries of questions which are combined to form scales by secondary analysts who often treat these scales as unproblematic. However, to be able to make valid cross-national comparisons of values on scales such as these, we need to be sure that the variations genuinely reflect differences in populations rather than being due to various forms of error. In order to illustrate the kinds of problems that can occur, and to explore ways of dealing with them, we examine items from the 2003 ISSP module on national identity. We show that differences between countries in response rates and other features of survey design are associated with the substantive outcomes and that ignoring these methodological problems will affect the validity of cross-national comparisons. We also examine whether the items can be assumed to have equivalence of meaning across the different countries in terms of their contributions to measuring two dimensions of national identity: civic and ethnic. We conclude that certain items do not seem to have the same meaning in all countries, thus jeopardizing the validity of cross-national comparisons using these scales. We suggest that the methods used and the lessons to be learnt can be applied to other items and cross-national datasets.

Events and Reliability of Measures: The Effect of Elections on Measures of Interest in Politics

Solvak, M. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:27:21 PDT

This article aims to determine whether elections affect the level of interest in politics. The European Social Survey's (ESS) long fieldwork periods make it possible to compare the change in levels of interest in politics as election time approaches and campaigns intensify, or as elections pass and the attention of the public turns toward other issues. The scope and comparability of the ESS allows for seeing possible effects on a cross-national level. The distance from the last parliamentary election and the distance to the next election are calculated for all cases in the database. The distance is then compared with the change of levels in variables measuring interest in politics throughout the fieldwork period. Additionally, changes in the mean values for each fieldwork month in countries where the ESS was fielded during elections is also compared. Results show that the distance from the last election and the distance to the next election are not correlated with a change in the levels of interest in politics. Furthermore, changes in the mean levels of interest in politics are within the error margins for fieldwork months that coincided with election months.

Measurement Models Matter: Implicit Assumptions and Cross-national Research

Medina, T. R., Smith, S. N., Long, J. S. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:27:21 PDT

The availability of cross-national survey data has grown exponentially in recent years. While much attention has been paid to increasing the comparability of indicators across countries, less has been done to increase the comparability of measurement models. This article examines the implicit assumptions of four different approaches to measurement modeling—summative scales, pooled exploratory factor analysis, multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis, and locally-conditioned factor analysis, and explores whether substantive conclusions in cross-national work can vary depending on the choice of measurement model. We find that results can vary by method and suggest that (i) the measurement modeling process itself be a critical part of cross-national research, and (ii) analysts be prepared to fully explain and defend measurement modeling decisions. A thorough understanding of the implicit assumptions of measurement modeling is required to avoid drawing conclusions that are little more than arbitrary.

Gender-Role Egalitarianism--Is the Trend Reversal Real?

Braun, M., Scott, J. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:27:21 PDT

Validity of Borrowed Questionnaire Items: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

Amer, S. R., Ingels, S. J., Mohammed, A. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:27:21 PDT

In support of a country-wide educational reform, the Supreme Education Council created the Qatar National Education Database System. We describe this system and use analytic techniques to tentatively evaluate some aspects of the quality of its scaled attitudinal information. In particular, we stress the importance of developing criteria for ensuring the validity of "borrowed" measures. We also point to the desirability of longitudinal data quality research in the context of a culture in which measurement instruments such as questionnaires have gone from little or no use to a newly familiar feature of the educational landscape.

Michael Wolffsohn and Thomas Brechenmacher (2008). Deutschland, judisch Heimatland. Die Geschichte der deutschen Juden vom Kaiserreich bis heute

Petersen, T. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:27:21 PDT

Nicholas J. G. Winter (2008). Dangerous Frames. How Ideas About Race and Gender Shape Public Opinion.

Hancock, A.-M. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:27:21 PDT

Recent Books in the Field of Public Opinion Research

de Boer, C. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:27:21 PDT

Recent Articles in the Field of Public Opinion Research

Mortimore, R. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:27:21 PDT

WAPOR News

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:27:21 PDT

Frame Flow Between Government and the News Media and its Effects on the Public: Framing of North Korea

Lim, J., Seo, H. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:27:22 PDT

Editorial

Donsbach, W., Neijens, P., Traugott, M. W. — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:10:07 PDT

Perceptual Phenomena in the Agenda Setting Process

Huck, I., Quiring, O., Brosius, H.-B. — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:10:07 PDT

The integration of formerly isolated theoretical concepts is probably one of the most challenging tasks in the development of media effects theory. While agenda setting has already been linked to priming and framing via the concept of second level agenda-setting, this article takes a closer look into perceptual phenomena within the agenda-setting process, thus linking micro-level psychological theories with macro-level theories of political communication. Starting with third-person perceptions, we argue that part of the agenda-setting function of the mass media is to inform recipients what other people believe to be important. Along these lines of thought, a theoretical model of agenda-setting effects is outlined in which perceptual components play an important role in the conceived process of media influence.

Stratification and Global Elite Theory: A Cross-Cultural and Longitudinal Analysis of Public Opinion

Davidson, R., Poor, N., Williams, A. — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:10:07 PDT

Many scholars have argued that globalization involves the emergence of a global elite, who are attached more to supra-national identities than others, who remain more local. Two variants of the global elite can be found in the literature: cosmopolitan and capitalist. This literature suggests more broadly that cross-nationally stratification has a consistent influence on attitudes pertinent to globalization such as support for global economic institutions. Using a social stratification approach, we examined nine developed societies from the World Values Survey to test whether stratification is related to attitudes towards globalization, and find only modest support for the contention that the upper strata become more cosmopolitan and more capitalist, or in a word, more global. The evidence suggests that the attitudinal globalization of the upper strata in developed economies is temporary and does not occur simultaneously in all countries, and that it does not increase consistently over time.

The Reflective Cue: Prompting Citizens for Greater Consideration of Reasons

Manosevitch, E. — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:10:08 PDT

This research explores means by which news media may help promote public awareness and consideration of reasons for supporting differing perspectives on public issues. The study draws on the concept argument repertoire (Cappella et al., 2002) and recent work on citizens’ exposure to diverse issue positions and rationales (Mutz, 2006). Merging scholarship in political psychology and information processing, the study introduces the reflective cue—a contextual cue designed to fit news media formats and induce more systematic processing of news. A controlled experiment (n = 265) documents support for the study's predictions that the exposure to the reflective cue in news would have positive effects on information-processing behavior and cognitive orientations related to the role of informed citizenry and media in democracy. Interestingly, exposure to the cue did not enhance subjects’ expression of issue-position reasons. I discuss possible explanations and implications of the findings, and offer directions for future.

Frame Flow between Government and the News Media and its Effects on the Public: Framing of North Korea

Lim, J., Seo, H. — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:10:08 PDT

Public opinion is likely to be susceptible to the way a government and the news media frame foreign countries, because unlike domestic issues, foreign news is typically beyond a person's direct experience. How does the American public respond to foreign news when its government and the news media promote competing frames and change their prominence according to the relations between the U.S. and that foreign country? The present study shows this frame building and frame effects by using a public opinion poll and content analysis of U.S. policy statements and media coverage. North Korea was chosen because its visibility to the American public has increased since President George W. Bush designated it as one of the countries in the "axis of evil". The results show that during a four-month period, the U.S. government and the newspaper produced three competing frames, and that the magnitude of the frames shifted as U.S.–North Korean relationships shifted. These shifts in turn made the American public choose economic sanctions over military solutions toward the country.

An Application of the Estimated Dependent Variable Approach: Trade Union Members' Support for Active Labor Market Policies and Insider-Outsider Politics

Nelson, M. — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:10:08 PDT

The Effect of Phrasing Scale Items in Low-Brow or High-Brow Language on Responses

Blasius, J., Friedrichs, J. — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:10:08 PDT

The wording of questions is a crucial problem in questionnaire construction. We posit that the semantic meanings of single words or short statements may differ among respondents, their interpretations and, accordingly, the responses may vary among respondents. This assumption is tested in a representative survey among residents in a deprived area in Cologne, Germany, using a scale on "Perceived Neighbourhood Disorder" introduced by Ross and Mirowski (1999). In the translated German version of the scale, we used a split-half design, varying the phrasing of eight of the eleven items by using (a) low-brow (or everyday) or (b) high-brow (or elaborated) language. Besides testing the assumption that phrasing has an effect, we wished to explore the kind of effect it has on respondents of different socio-economic characteristics such as age and education, and also attitudinal variables. The results support our assumptions: phrasing has an effect, since answers and scale means differ significantly. Results of multivariate analyses suggest that the low-brow language version is the more appropriate way for item wording.

Ralph Negrine (2008). The Transformation of Political Communication. Continuities and Changes in media and politics.

Louw, E. — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:10:08 PDT

Beverley A. Searle (2008). Well-being: In Search of a Good Life?

Breznau, N. — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:10:08 PDT

Recent Books in the Field of Public Opinion Research

de Boer, C. — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:10:08 PDT

Recent Articles in the Field of Public Opinion Research

Mortimore, R. — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:10:08 PDT

WAPOR News

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:10:08 PDT

Editorial

Donsbach, W., Neijens, P., Traugott, M. W. — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:01:23 PST

A Lost Decade? Laszlo Radvanyi and the Origins of Public Opinion Research in Mexico, 1941-1952

Moreno, A., Sanchez-Castro, M. — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:01:23 PST

This article documents public opinion research activities in Mexico in the 1940s and the role played by Hungarian professor László Radványi, who immigrated to that country at the height of World War II. Our research relies on several of Radványi's publications archived in different countries, as well as on interviews with family, acquaintances, and experts on the work of his wife, the German poet Anna Seghers. During his years in Mexico, Radványi founded the Scientific Institute of Mexican Public Opinion, in 1941, and the International Journal of Opinion and Attitude Research, in 1947—a forefather of today's IJPOR. He was also a founding member of WAPOR. His early "sample surveys" raised important methodological issues and recorded opinion results that reflect the vibrant times of war and policy making in a modernizing country. However, Radványi's contribution to the profession has been virtually forgotten. Until now, accounts about how public opinion research began in Mexico either ignored Radványi's works or reduced his ten years of survey research to a single footnote. This article is an attempt to fill this enormous omission and highlight some of Radványi's contributions to these early stages of survey research.

What Underlies the False Consensus Effect? How Personal Opinion and Disagreement Affect Perception of Public Opinion

Wojcieszak, M., Price, V. — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:01:23 PST

This study draws on a sample of participants in online groups to analyze the interaction between individual-level and communicative-level factors that affect public opinion perception. We first assess the association between individual views on several issues—the death penalty, gun regulation and teaching morality in public schools—and false consensus, i.e., the tendency to attribute own views to others. We also examine whether the association between individual opinion and false consensus is mitigated by perceived disagreement with offline discussion networks and with participants in online discussion groups. As expected, not only is there a correlation between personal and perceived opinion, but also those who strongly favor the three policies estimate public support to be higher than do those who are unfavorable or moderate. Multivariate models further show that encountering disagreement, online or offline, attenuates the association between the individual opinion and false consensus. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

The Political Consequences of Ambivalence: The Case of Democratic Reform in Hong Kong

Lee, F. L. F., Chan, J. M. — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:01:23 PST

Recent research has shown that attitudinal ambivalence has important implications on political attitudes and behavior. The concept holds one of the keys to understanding complicated and seemingly contradictory opinions of the public. This article examines ambivalence in public opinion regarding democratic reform in Hong Kong. Analysis of a representative survey (N = 600) shows that common citizens indeed have a significant degree of ambivalence toward the government's political reform bill proposed in 2005. Regarding consequences, objective ambivalence is shown to have greater predictive power than subjective ambivalence. The former relates negatively to attitude extremity and weakens the attitude–behavior linkage. However, contrary to the usual finding in the literature, objective ambivalence also relates positively to protest participation intention. The theoretical and social implications of the findings are discussed.

Asking for Numbers and Quantities: Visual Design Effects in Paper&Pencil Surveys

Fuchs, M. — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:01:24 PST

When reporting frequencies and quantities in self-administered surveys using open-ended questions, respondents make use of estimation strategies in order to provide a reasonable response. Accordingly, respondents do not only report pure numbers using digits, instead they extend their response to alphanumeric information and explicit estimates (e.g. "about 10–20 cigarettes per day"). Such responses are not only of reduced quality, but they also require a lot of editing and cleaning in the post-field phase of a survey. While previous methodological work on frequency questions has focused on question wording, reference periods and other text elements that have traditionally been considered significant for high quality frequency responses, in this article we test the impact of various graphical characteristics of the response field in order to reduce the number of alphanumeric elaborations and explicit estimates. The field-experimental studies reported are based on the assumption that respondents interpret formal characteristics of frequency questions as meaningful information throughout the question answer process. The findings reported will help survey designers reduce the proportion of estimated responses.

Intergroup Attitudes and Policy Support: How Prejudice against Minority Groups Affects Support for Public Policies

David, C. C. — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:01:24 PST

Support for Mothers' Employment at Home: Conflict between Work and Family

Kelley, S. M. C., Kelley, C. G. E., Evans, M. D. R., Kelley, J. — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:01:24 PST

Mode Differences Between Face-to-Face and Web Surveys: An Experimental Investigation of Data Quality and Social Desirability Effects

Heerwegh, D. — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:01:24 PST

Rosalee A. Clawson and Zoe M. Oxley (2008). Public Opinion: Democratic Ideals, Democratic Practice.

Elenbaas, M. — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:01:24 PST

Recent Books in the Field of Public Opinion Research

de Boer, C. — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:01:24 PST

Recent Articles in the Field of Public Opinion Research

Mortimore, R. — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:01:24 PST

WAPOR News

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:01:24 PST