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Item comparability in cross-national surveys: results from asking probing questions in cross-national web surveys about attitudes towards civil disobedience

Author

Listed:
  • Dorothée Behr
  • Michael Braun
  • Lars Kaczmirek
  • Wolfgang Bandilla

Abstract

This article focuses on assessing item comparability in cross-national surveys by asking probing questions in Web surveys. The “civil disobedience” item from the “rights in a democracy” scale of the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) serves as a substantive case study. Identical Web surveys were fielded in Canada (English-speaking), Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Spain, and the U.S. A category-selection and a comprehension probe, respectively, were incorporated into the Web surveys after the closed-ended “civil disobedience” item. Responses to the category selection-probe reveal that notably in Germany, Hungary, and Spain the detachment of politicians from the people and their lack of responsiveness is deplored. Responses to the comprehension probe show that mainly in the U.S. and Canada violence and/or destruction are associated with civil disobedience. These results suggest reasons for the peculiar statistical results found for the “civil disobedience” item in the ISSP study. On the whole, Web probing proves to be a valuable tool for identifying interpretation differences and potential bias in cross-national survey research. Copyright The Author(s) 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Dorothée Behr & Michael Braun & Lars Kaczmirek & Wolfgang Bandilla, 2014. "Item comparability in cross-national surveys: results from asking probing questions in cross-national web surveys about attitudes towards civil disobedience," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 127-148, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:qualqt:v:48:y:2014:i:1:p:127-148
    DOI: 10.1007/s11135-012-9754-8
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jacobsen, Jannes & Fuchs, Lukas Marian, 2020. "Can We Compare Conceptions of Democracy in Cross-Linguistic and Cross-National Research? : Evidence from a Random Sample of Refugees in Germany," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 151(2), pages 669-690.
    2. Ilona Wysmułek & Irina Tomescu-Dubrow & Joonghyun Kwak, 2022. "Ex-post harmonization of cross-national survey data: advances in methodological and substantive inquiries," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 1701-1708, June.
    3. Jannes Jacobsen & Lukas Marian Fuchs, 2020. "Can We Compare Conceptions of Democracy in Cross-Linguistic and Cross-National Research? Evidence from a Random Sample of Refugees in Germany," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 151(2), pages 669-690, September.
    4. Michael Braun & Dorothée Behr & Juan Díez Medrano, 2018. "What do respondents mean when they report to be “citizens of the world”? Using probing questions to elucidate international differences in cosmopolitanism," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(3), pages 1121-1135, May.

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