Survey Research and Voting

Abstract

The data provided by national election surveys are staples of political science. But with rising field costs, more mobile populations and declining survey participation rates, election surveys face a number of challenges. Some of the solutions being explored in election surveys around the world include switching to a self-complete interview mode (e.g., via the Internet). On the other hand, many scholars remain skeptical about the representativeness of the samples taking surveys via the Internet. Further, is enough known about the differences between in-person interviewing and Internet/self-complete modes to make the Internet a viable alternative, even if the sampling issues were settled? On the other hand, does the vastly cheaper cost of self-complete surveys settle the matter, via the potential for vastly larger sample sizes? Are intermediate, mixed-mode designs, a way forward? This panel will seek a variety of perspectives on this topic from scholars on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond, who are actively involved in conducting large scale survey research. Possible participants include Andre Blais (Montréal), Harold Clarke (British Election Study), Susan Banducci (Exeter), Ray Duch (Nuffield), Mark Franklin (EUI, Florence), Ian McAllister (ANU), none of whom I am yet to contact about this, for what it is worth. Since this is ECPR I think an explicitly international take on this would be most welcome, perhaps with fewer North Americans than might typically fill slots on an APSA panel covering this ground. The exact composition of the panel is TBA, and this could be a roundtable if necessary, but I'd much rather people actually gave real papers etc with findings on the issues I've sketched above, rather than restatements of prior beliefs. As for a discussant, I could slide out of the chair's role and do it myself, I've been wondering about getting someone well-versed in the issues like Doug Rivers (Stanford) or some of the people working on these issues in the Netherlands and Germany (e.g., not necessarily polisci types, but I'm thinking of Edith de Leeuw or Joop Hox or Marcel Das etc).

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