title: Survey questions about party competence: Insights from cognitive interviews.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Methods in the Social Sciences, University of Vienna, Rathausstraße 19/1/9, 1010 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.affiliation: Department of Methods in the Social Sciences, University of Vienna, Rathausstraße 19/1/9, 1010 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zeglovits
keywords: Cognitive interviews; Party competence; Position; Salience; Survey response; Valence
references.citation: J Pers Soc Psychol. 1988 Aug;55(2):196-210
references.pmid: 3171904