Suchergebnisse

Two experiments are described in which a failure to replicate the findings of Howard Schuman, Stanley Prosser, & Jacob Ludwig (see SA 30:2/82M1253) is itself replicated. In the first, 3 different forms of a survey instrument containing 2 questions about abortion were administered by telephone to residents of the greater Cincinnati, Ohio, area (total N not given) as part of a larger survey; the order in which the questions were asked made no significant difference. Possible context effects from other questions were explored through questions included in a larger survey of the same area, in which each of 1,043 Rs received 1 of 4 forms of the same instrument. Difference in context of the abortion questions does not explain the absence of order effects. Implications of the findings are explored. 2 Tables, 4 References. Modified HA.

A telephone survey was conducted after the fall 1982 elections to find out whether the order of questions affects Rs' responses to questions about how interested they are in the political campaign. Two sets of Rs (N = 574 & 576, respectively) were asked the same 2 questions (whether they voted & how interested they were in following the political campaign), but in different order. When asked how interested they were in following the political campaigns immediately after a question about whether or not they voted in the 1982 election, Rs were more likely to think they were interested in the campaign, especially if they claimed to have voted, than if they were asked about it immediately before the question on whether or not they had voted. The order effect appears, however, to depend on when the questions are asked. If asked within a few weeks of the election, there is little or no order effect. But as the memory of the campaign fades, the order of the questions makes a sizable difference in the results. Better educated Rs show a more pronounced order effect. In conclusion, a brief discussion is presented of the implications for the design of the interview schedule used in the American National Election Studies. 3 Tables, 9 References. Modified HA.