We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
REDUCING VOTE OVERREPORTING IN SURVEYS.
- Authors
Belli, Robert F.; Traugott, Michael W.; Young, Margaret; Mcgonagle, Katherine A.
- Abstract
The article discusses experimental results from a revised question wording that has successfully reduced the levels of overreport and improved the accuracy of self-reports of voting behavior in the U.S. Often survey measurement errors results in overreporting. Two different possible explanations of overreporting have been put forward. One considers overreporting the result of social desirability, in which case the respondents claim that they voted, when they clearly remember that they did not vote, for reasons of self-presentation. The other explanation is the result of memory failure, in which respondents are seen to forward telescope a remote voting experience when reporting that they voted in the most recent election. According to this study, overreporting results from a combined influence of these two reasons. A revised question wording, which encouraged respondents to scrutinize several possible contributions to response error limited combinations of these processes and question wordings based on them, is reported to have successfully reduced the levels of overreport and improved the accuracy of self-reports of voting behavior.
- Subjects
UNITED States; VOTING; VOTING research; ELECTIONS; SOCIAL desirability; SURVEYS
- Publication
Public Opinion Quarterly, 1999, Vol 63, Issue 1, p90
- ISSN
0033-362X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1086/297704