Assessment of people’s views with an emphasis on sociological aspects is mainly associated with the tradition of the European public opinion research. American authors introduced empirical and socio-psychological approaches to this eld of study. Hadley Cantril was one of those who pioneered “scienti c” public opinion research inspired by George Gallup. This paper reviews Cantril’s work, recalling some of his most important theoretical and methodological ndings and empirical projects, to conclude that his studies remain a rich source of knowledge for all present-day and future public opinion researchers, Ján Mišovič., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
This article outlines how different types of survey response reliability are estimated and used within the social sciences. Implementing the Classical Test Theory’s concept of reliability in a panel survey exploring opinions and attitude crystallization in a Czech town. Estimates of the test-retest reliability of respondents’ political orientation are estimated using four different approaches. Political orientation is measured using a standard 10 point left-right scale. It also estimates the ‘true score’ of a respondents’ political orientation; and shows the implications of measurement precision for the estimation of this individual level trait. Inter-item reliability is calculated using a 4 item scale composed of dichotomous indicators. This analysis reveals that the estimated reliability of the political orientation scale depends on the number of items used to construct the scale. More concretely the 10 point left-right political orientation scale exhibits a satisfactory level of test-retest reliability demonstrating its validity in making inferences about the target population. The analyses presented in this study were estimated using the R statistical programming language and LISREL - a specialized software package for estimating structural equation models., Jan Schubert., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
The aim of this article is to present a trend in research on measurement error in survey data and to suggest some problematic aspects of this approach. The article describes the Multitrait Multimethod experimental design and its modifi cation into a 2 Split-ballot Multitrait Multimethod (2 SB MTMM), which is used for experimental data collection in the European Social Survey. The text shows how to analyze 2 SB MTMM data to obtain estimates of construct validity, reliability and common method variance for a single questionnaire item, and how to make use of these estimates. It also points to some problems encountered in 2 SB MTMM data analysis., Johana Chylíková., and Obsahuje bibliografii
This article outlines several techniques for analyzing panel data with a dichotomous dependent variable. This presentation is inspired by the classic work of Paul Allison [1999]. An example analysis is presented where public attitudes toward restitution of church property in the Czech Republic is explored using panel data. Here the focus is on exploring changes in the intra-personal agenda of respondents on this specific issue. There are three main conclusions from this research: (1) media exposure and (2) the education level of the respondent increase the odds of the church restitution issue being mentioned by a respondent as being important, and (3) mention of the church restitution issue in a particular wave of the panel survey is negatively associated with mention of this issue in later waves of the panel study examined. These findings are discussed in terms of their methodological and substantive implications., František Kalvas ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
The present paper deals with the Brno Social Study, a rather extraordinary questionnaire survey given its extent and time (1947). Data analysis was forestalled by the political transformation after 1948, but the questionnaires were preserved. We have inherited a unique set of data for a historical-sociological analysis focusing both on the population of industry workers and on the social structure of Czech society in the advent of the communist coup. The Brno Social Study is contextualized in the state of post-war sociology, and the avenues toward its inception and implementation are mapped. The central part of the paper analyses the survey data from a contemporary analytical perspective, discussing the dataset’s representativeness. The primary objective of the paper is to propose, and initiate scholarly debate about, a feasible methodology for analysing the archived data today. The methodology serves to construct a representative sample through a combination of purposive, quota and random sampling; to determine the respondents’ socio-economic status using both ISCO and an original conceptualization of working class status; and to present certain data on respondents’ lifestyles that might be of interest for future analyses., Dušan Janák, Martin Stanoev a Petr Hušek., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Techniky využívající vizuálních stimulů jsou v sociálněvědním výzkumu přítomny od konce 19. století. Jejich metodologické ukotvení, zejména pak v kvantitativně orientovaných studiích, však není příliš pevné. V této přehledové stati se proto zaměřuji na metodologické aspekty jednotlivých skupin vizuálních technik a následně formuluji doporučení pro design studií, které se takový typ výzkumu rozhodnou použít. V textu se po stručném historickém úvodu postupně věnuji psychologickým projektivním metodám, využití vizuálních materiálů v hloubkových rozhovorech a kvantitativních dotazníkových šetřeních. V diskusi pak shrnuji metodologická specifika tohoto typu technik, doporučení pro design instrumentu a problémy validity., Techniques using visual stimuli have existed in social research since the late 19th century. However, the methodological framework in which they are embedded remains limited in scope, especially with respect to quantitative research. In this article, the author focuses on the methodological aspects of various types of visual techniques. Subsequently, he proposes some recommendations for methodological design. After a brief historical review, the main part of the article discusses psychological projective methods, photo-elicitation techniques and the application of visual stimuli in in-depth interviewing and quantitative questionnaire surveys. Final discussion focuses on the methodological specifics of visual methods, design recommendations and the problem of validity., Martin Buchtík., and Seznam literatury
The goal of this article is to inform social scientists, especially those of a quantitative orientation, about the basic characteristics of Big Data and to present the opportunities and limitations of using such data in social research. The paper informs about three basic types of Big Data as they are distinguished in contemporary methodological literature, namely administrative data, transaction data and social network data, and exemplifies how they can be utilized by quantitative social research. According to many, questionnaire-based sample survey as the dominant method of quantitative social research has found itself in a crisis, especially as response rates have decreased in most developed countries and public confidence in opinion polling has declined. The author presents the characteristics and specifics of Big Data compared to survey research - a method whose primary distinguishing characteristic is the capacity to quantify individual behaviour, social action and attitudes at the level of populations. In this context, the article draws attention to the differences between Big Data and survey data typically presented in scholarly literature, namely that datasets are not representative of known populations, the values of observed variables are systematically biased, there is a limited number of variables in Big Data sets, there is uncertainty about the meaning of observed values, and social environment has direct influence on the behaviours captured by Big Data. Attention is also paid to such characteristics of Big Data that pose an obstacle to smooth integration of this type of data in the social scientific mainstream. First, the collection, processing and analysis of Big Data is extremely demanding in terms of programming skills, something social scientists typically do not have. Second, the availability of Big Data is limited as they are normally possessed by private corporations, some of which (Facebook, Google) have undoubtedly come to form data oligopolies - and their management is mostly unwilling to share their data with traditional academics. Based on the above-mentioned specifics, differences and limitations, it is argued that Big Data currently do not have the potential of becoming a full-fledged source of social science data and replacing sample surveys as the dominant research method. Finally, the article draws attention to the specifics of different types of Big Data as they are primarily generated for purposes other than social research and result from specific situations framed by existing social relations - and it is from this perspective that Big Data should be viewed by social researchers., Johana Chylíková., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy