Suchergebnisse

A collaborative experiment between the General Social Survey, National Opinion Research Center, & the American National Election Study, Center for Political Studies is examined. Identical items were asked by both surveys, thereby permitting a test of reproducibility & house effects. Significant differences were found between the houses, with the largest & most systematic differences involving item nonresponse. Various explanations for the differences are examined, & a general assessment of the importance of the differences is presented. 1 Table, Appendixes. HA.

The present dissertation explores language effects in a comparative survey i.e. to what extent linguistic diversity affects equivalence in a comparative survey. This is done by studying three different dimensions on the challenges of designing a comparative multilingual survey: survey translation, linguistically diverse countries and bilingualism. Guidelines in survey translation do not link assessment criteria and measurement equivalence testing. I propose a systematic procedure to compare versions of a question in different languages before fieldwork which establishes that link. In linguistically diverse countries, survey instruments are translated into more than one language, equivalence is commonly assumed, not tested. I test for invariance distinguishing the response and cognitive processes to a survey question. Finally, I study measurement equivalence within an individual in two languages for political constructs (bilingualism), challenging current methodological approaches by bringing latent variable models. In each dimension, findings aim to contribute to improving comparative survey methodology. ; Esta tesis explora los efectos del lenguaje en una encuesta comparativa: en qué medida la diversidad lingüística afecta la equivalencia de los datos mediante el estudio de tres dimensiones: la traducción de encuestas, países lingüísticamente diversos y el bilingüismo. Las directrices actuales en la traducción de encuestas no vinculan los criterios de evaluación con un test de equivalencia. Se propone un procedimiento sistemático para comparar las versiones de una pregunta que establece dicho vínculo, en diferentes idiomas antes del trabajo de campo. En países lingüísticamente diversos, el cuestionario se traduce en más de un idioma. Se realiza un test de equivalencia que permite distinguir los procesos de respuesta de los cognitivos. Finalmente, se estudia la equivalencia de conceptos políticos en dos idiomas para un individuo (bilingüismo), proponiendo un enfoque metodológico de modelos de variables latentes. ...

Despite an upsurge of red tape research, a central issue remains unresolved. The most widely used red tape measures draw on key informant reports about red tape. The starkest objection to such measures is that key informant reports are mere perceptions—perceptions that are subject to distortion. We assess the validity of key informant perception-based measures of personnel red tape by using "anchoring vignettes." Findings suggest that anchoring vignettes can be used to improve the accuracy of survey measures of red tape. Implications of findings for red tape scholarship and survey measurement in public management are discussed.

Methodological advances in PO over the past 20 yrs have been sparked by the development of opinion res centers (Princeton, Columbia, Denver, etc), by the expansion of gov-sponsored res during WWII, by the professional associations, & by the failure of the pollsters in the 1948 election. These advances have been reflected in a series of outstanding, & increasingly sophisticated studies. Res methodology has been adapted to a wider field of subject matter, rapid strides have been made in attitude measurement techniques, & principal sampling problems have been partially solved. S. F. Fava.

A person has nonseparable preferences when her preference on an issue depends on the outcome of other issues. A model of survey responses in which preferences are measured with error implies that responses will change depending on the order of questions and vary over time when respondents have nonseparable preferences. Results from two survey experiments confirm that changes in survey responses due to question order are explained by nonseparable preferences but not by the respondent's level of political information, partisanship, or ideology.