Survey questions about party competence: insights from cognitive interviews

Autor(en)

Markus Wagner, Eva Zeglovits

Abstrakt

Voter assessments of party competence have become a key explanation of electoral decision-making. However, there are at least three important aspects to understanding responses to questions on issue-specific party competence: comprehension difficulties; a lack of well-formed attitudes and relevant information; and the use of response heuristics. We used 20 cognitive interviews carried out in Austria in 2011 to test competence questions. The interviews show us how respondents explain their responses. We find evidence that many people (1) may hold only weak opinions and have little information on issue-specific party competence and (2) may make use of distinct but related concepts, particularly salience and position, when answering questions about competence. We provide recommendations for researchers and survey designers based on our findings.

Organisation(en)

Institut für Staatswissenschaft

Journal

Electoral Studies

Band

34

Seiten

280-290

Anzahl der Seiten

11

ISSN

0261-3794

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2013.09.005

Publikationsdatum

10-2013

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

506014 Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft, 509 Andere Sozialwissenschaften

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Political Science and International Relations

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/4eeaabd6-dae7-4178-9dfe-2ee4cd0f1e10