Oral
Turner, R.C., Wang, X, Lo, W., Crawford, B.L., & Jozkowski, K.N. (2022, November 18 – November 19). Investigating How Different Item Formats Can Meet Different Reliability Needs in Attitude Measurement. Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research annuaL meeting, Chicago IL.
Abstract: Alwin and Krosnick (1991) and Tourangeau (2021) have encouraged researchers to consider the importance of different types of reliability and their applications with survey data. They remind us to consider approaches to reliability assessment from multiple disciplines for multiple purposes (e.g., survey research, psychology) with specific recommendations for longitudinal applications. In this study, we compare reliability from the perspectives of single-sample vs longitudinal data, item vs scale-level, and varying item response formats. We use a longitudinal dataset of 576 IPSOS® KnowledgePanel members who completed four waves of data collected in 2020. A current topic in public discourse (U.S. attitudes about abortion) is used.
We investigate how different response formats can exhibit stronger estimates of certain types of reliability and weaker estimates for others. Initial findings indicate that items with fewer response options (2-point) exhibit stronger multi-wave reliability at the item level than items with more response options when using gross difference rate. Alwin et al. (2018) also found higher reliability for fewer response options when measuring reliability across reinterviews using longitudinal reliability assessments. Conversely, when studying the internal consistency of responses (e.g., McDonald’s omega) at the scale level, items with a 2-point response format had lower reliability than items with more response options, similar to findings by Alwin and Krosnick (1991). Our results also found scale-level test-retest reliability to be lower for scales with 2-point response formats than 5-point options. Additional reliability approaches across scales and waves of data collection are provided.
Buyuker, B., Crawford, B.L., Jozkowski, K.N., Turner, R.C., & Lo, W., (2022, November 18 – November 19). Linking Perceptions about the Role of Federal and State Government and the Support for Texas and Mississippi Laws in the US. Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research annual meeting, Chicago IL.
Abstract: Although research suggests that the US public infamously mistrusts the government, the public’s view about government involvement differs depending on the specific policy issue. For instance, most US adults indicate support for major government involvement in issues like public health while a libertarian minority favors less government involvement regardless of the issue. To date, this research does not extend its findings to study how people perceive the government’s role in abortion, even though the abortion debate attracts prime attention in US politics both at the federal and the states level.
A second line of research on abortion documents that individual-level characteristics such as education, religiosity, party identification, and political ideology are key predictors of public support for legal abortion. However, this research does not directly investigate how individual attitudes toward federal and state government involvement influence support for abortion legality.
By drawing on this research, we examine whether and to what extent public attitudes toward federal and state government involvement are associated with supporting legal abortion in the U.S. In the context of increased legislative attempts at the state level to limit abortion access and the US Supreme Court’s decision on Dobbs v. Jackson, exploring the link between attitudes toward the different levels of government involvement and support for abortion laws becomes more crucial.
We use two nationally representative samples of English and Spanish-speaking U.S. adults collected via Ipsos’ Knowledge Panel and NORC’s AmeriSpeak Panel (N=1000 for both), to assess how attitudes toward federal and state government involvement relate to the support for the Texas and Mississippi abortion laws among US adults and racial-ethnic groups.
Lo, W., Asamoah, N., Wang, X., Turner, R.C., Crawford, B.L., Jozkowski, K.N. (2022, November 18 – November 19). Comparing binary and 4- and 6-point Likert scales formats. Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research annuaL meeting, Chicago IL.
Although research suggests that the US public infamously mistrusts the government, the public’s view about government involvement differs depending on the specific policy issue. For instance, most US adults indicate support for major government involvement in issues like public health while a libertarian minority favors less government involvement regardless of the issue. To date, this research does not extend its findings to study how people perceive the government’s role in abortion, even though the abortion debate attracts prime attention in US politics both at the federal and the states level.
A second line of research on abortion documents that individual-level characteristics such as education, religiosity, party identification, and political ideology are key predictors of public support for legal abortion. However, this research does not directly investigate how individual attitudes toward federal and state government involvement influence support for abortion legality.
By drawing on this research, we examine whether and to what extent public attitudes toward federal and state government involvement are associated with supporting legal abortion in the U.S. In the context of increased legislative attempts at the state level to limit abortion access and the US Supreme Court’s decision on Dobbs v. Jackson, exploring the link between attitudes toward the different levels of government involvement and support for abortion laws becomes more crucial.
We use two nationally representative samples of English and Spanish-speaking U.S. adults collected via Ipsos’ Knowledge Panel and NORC’s AmeriSpeak Panel (N=1000 for both), to assess how attitudes toward federal and state government involvement relate to the support for the Texas and Mississippi abortion laws among US adults and racial-ethnic groups.