Suchergebnisse

A comparison of the relative ranking of ethnic, religious, regional, & racial groups on such dimensions as SS, contributions, loyalty, success, & political acceptability. In general, the most positive rankings go to old stock immigrants such as the English. Next come members of the middle stock such as Germans & the Irish, followed by late European immigrants such as Jews, Greeks, & Poles. Generally below these European groups are immigrants from Asia, Africa, & South America, & native Americans. While some shifts have occurred over the last fifty years, the basic alignments have remained. There is evidence, however, that the gulf between the groups has narrowed. 12 References. AA.

Previous split-ballot survey experiments have shown an effect of question order on responses to two adjacent questions, one concerning the admittance of US reporters to the USSR & the other concerning the admittance of Soviet reporters to the US. The experiment reported here used a national telephone sample (N = 355, with a 70.6% response rate) to test whether this effect could be eliminated by separating the questions. The effect remained, even when 17 unrelated questions were interposed between the 2 reporter questions. 1 Table, Appendix. Modified AA.

With an experimental design, the correlates of R burden were measured in 500 households in suburban Philadelphia, Pa. The research design provided for variation in the length of the instrument, the effort required to answer some of the questions, & the administration of a second interview approximately one year after the first. R burden was measured using behavioral indicators & responses to a self-administered reaction form. Instrument length was the only experimental variable that yielded statistically significant (although generally small) differences in burden perception. Two attitudinal factors -- belief in the usefulness of surveys, & denial of the privacy-invading character of survey questions -- were strongly associated with low burden perception. 6 Tables, 2 Figures. AA.

Aggregate time-series, not individual-level, analyses have been traditional in France. To explore the effect of individual economic conditions on French voting behavior, responses to 55 economic items in 11 national surveys conducted between 1970 & 1978 were analyzed. Economic conditions significantly affected party choice in French legislative elections, with adverse economic circumstances generally producing votes for the Left. This relationship appears stronger among French than US voters. 1 Table, 34 References. D. Dunseath.

Methods for estimating nonresponse bias are reviewed & several methods are tried on the 1980 General Social Survey. Results indicate that various estimating procedures are inappropriate & that even the more promising techniques can provide faulty estimates. By its nature, nonresponse bias is very difficult to assess accurately & no simple, certain method exists. 4 Tables, 52 References. AA.

The polls conducted by the major US radio & TV networks (starting with the Central Broadcasting System in 1967) perform an important service in a reasonably competent manner. The conduct of these polls is reviewed, with attention to topics: sample design, & execution; interviewers & sample cooperation; questions & questionnaires; analysis; reporting of limitations; & archiving. Despite weaknesses in questionnaire testing & analysis of results, these surveys are an excellent source of material for secondary analyses. 1 Table, 1 Reference. Modified HA.

Most persons exposed to a persuasive communication in the mass media Generally suppose this to have a greater effect on others than on themselves. In some cases, such a communication leads to action not because of its actual impact on those to whom it is ostensibly directed, but because others (third persons) think it will have this impact. Several small experiments offering support for this hypothesis are described, & its complementary relationship to a number of concepts in the social sciences is noted. The third-person effect may help to explain the fear of heretical propaganda by religious leaders & the fear of dissent by political rulers. It appears to be related to the phenomenon of censorship in general: the censor never admits to being influenced; it is others with "impressionable minds" who will be affected. 2 Tables. AA.

Four procedures for selecting telephone survey Rs within a household unit -- Troldahl-Carter, M/F alternation, next-birthday, & no-selection methods -- were compared in an interview survey of 230 households. The data indicate that the next-birthday method is a relatively efficient procedure for selecting a sample that is representative of all household members. 3 Tables. AA.

Paul Lazarsfeld, in his 1950 presidential address to the American Assoc for PO (see Kendall, Patricia L. [Ed] The Varied Sociology of Paul F. Lazarsfeld, New York: Columbia U Press, 1982), stressed the usefulness of PO data for historians & the lack of such data until recent times. Before the mid-nineteenth century, however, although few people expressed themselves as part of a body of what is now termed PO, they found ways to make their concerns known. The nature of these methods is explored on the basis of historical data; most debate centered on parochial issues & relied on patronage, whereas modern expressions are typically national & autonomous. Ritual occasions & punishments gave opportunities for expression of public feelings. A new repertoire emerged in the nineteenth century, but elements of the old still persist today. In The Popular Symbolic Repertoire and Mass Communication, James R. Beniger (Princeton U, NJ) notes Tilly's lack of attention to the intended audience of expressions of opinion; changes in this audience account for much of the change in expressive behavior. In Public Opinion and Collective Behavior, Leo Bogart points out that relatively organized social movements, which Tilly considers a recent development, can be traced far back into history. Traditional expressive behavior modes do not necessarily express PO; often they simply express the biases & interests of special groups. Although the polls of today are valuable tools, PO existed before it was recognized. 3 Figures, 27 References. W. H. Stoddard.

Evaluation of an information campaign to increase knowledge about cardiovascular health indicated that: (1) the campaign significantly increased knowledge in the treatment community; & (2) within the treatment community, education was a significant predictor of knowledge before the campaign, but not after. However, two variables related to motivation to acquire information about cardiovascular health (age & perceived threat of heart attack) were not significant predictors of knowledge before the campaign, but were afterward. These results suggest that the infusion of information into a social system via the mass media can close as well as open knowledge gaps between more & less well-educated audience segments, & that motivation to acquire information in a specific knowledge domain is a factor controlling gap effects. 6 Tables, 15 References. AA.

Voting for presidential, senate, & house elections is analyzed at the state level on the basis of 83 time series of election statistics for the years 1914-1980. Since WWII, there has been a pronounced trend toward particularization of voting for federal offices. This trend includes not only the erosion of party attachments, but also the dissolution of traditional electoral ties such as presidential coattails, the midterm congressional swing, & incumbency. As a result, the vote in federal elections is now largely determined by factors specific to the setting in which each election occurs, & by candidates' ability to convert these factors to political advantages through mass media campaigns. 3 Tables, 6 Figures, Appendixes. Modified HA.

Two R selection procedures were compared in a combination telephone & mail survey involving a national probability sample of 2,500+ telephone households: one procedure asked two household composition questions in order to select a R randomly; the alternative asked no preliminary questions. It was hypothesized that: (1) the alternative approach would result in fewer refusals at the R selection phase because no obtrusive household composition questions were asked; & (2) the integrity of the demographic profile of the resulting sample would not be compromised. Findings support both hypotheses. 3 Tables, 5 References. Modified AA.

The parents of an eligible sample of 1,618 students in grades 4-12 were contacted to obtain written permission for their children to complete questionnaires related to alcohol & drugs. The distribution of students across the parental response categories (consent denied, no reply, or consent granted) were compared on the student variables of sex, grade level, ethnic group, & reading & vocabulary test scores. The explicit consent procedure produced a sample that was approximately 50% of the eligible population, but that overrepresented white students & underrepresented blacks & Asian Americans. There was no evidence of sample bias with respect to student gender, & the evidence regarding bias on academically related measures was mixed. 2 Tables. AA.