More issues
Surveys in Exchange for Temporary Internet Access
Recruiting diverse samples on the Internet is a tough business. Even if one uses probability sampling, one must still think of creative ways of incentivizing response. For example, Knowledge Networks samples uses RDD (one can use ABS) and then entices selected respondents with free Internet access (or money) in exchange
Some Potential Negatives of Elite Polarization
Growing ideological distance between the parties has produced clearer choices. This added clarity has resulted in improved propensity among voters to make ideologically consistent choices (Levendusky 2010). This is seen as a positive.
However, there may be some negative normative implications as well. If parties have moved away from the
French for Bread
Pain is an unpleasant sensation. It is generally assumed that pain has two purposes: 1. to stop us from engaging in a behavior that is causing the pain, say, continuing to dip the hand in boiling water, and 2. to train the body to not engage in such behavior in
Institutional Distrust
It is sometimes assumed that high levels of institutional distrust in America are peculiar to it. So much so that a variety of theories have been offered to ‘explain’ this peculiarity including, but not limited to, elite polarization, income inequality, polarized media, etc. Empirical support for the ‘American exceptionalism’ however
help(R): matrix indexing
In R, some want to treat matrix like a data frame. It is a bad idea. And no – one cannot use the dollar sign to pick out a column of a matrix. The underlying data structure for a matrix in R is a vector, whereas data.frame object in R
Affectively Polarized? Partisan Polarization Among the Masses
The shooting of Representative Giffords has reignited the debate about the extent to which the public is polarized. Some political scientists have answered the question by analyzing people’s policy positions over the years. And the data are clear on the question—no, not really.
However, a lack of ‘real’
GSS and ANES: Alike Yet Different
The General Social Survey (GSS), run out of National Opinion Research Center at University of Chicago, and American National Election Studies (ANES), which until recently ran out of University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, are two preeminent surveys tracking over-time trends in social and political attitudes, beliefs and
Another Coding Issue in the ANES Cumulative File
Technology has made it easy to analyze data. However, we have paid inadequate attention to developing automation in data analysis software that pays more attention to potential problems with the data itself. For example, I was recently exploring how interviewer rated political knowledge varied by respondent’s level of education
Delay Shooting the Help
Procrastination or delaying without reason, doing something that one has to do, makes little sense. If the voluntary delay also causes anxiety, which in most cases it does, it may be particularly pointless. Yet, a lot of people procrastinate at least some of the time. Why?
One can make a