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27. April 2015

SOEP Brown Bag Seminar

Do People Mean What They Say? Revisiting the Implications for Subjective Survey Data

Termin

27. April 2015
12:30 - 13:30

Ort

Arthur-Cecil-Pigou-Raum
DIW Berlin im Quartier 110
Room 3.3.002C
Mohrenstraße 58
10117 Berlin

Sprecher*innen

Adrian Chadi (Universität Trier)

Empirical research that uses subjective data relies heavily on the validity of the information reported by survey participants. However, situation-specific factors, such as the atmosphere in which the interview takes place, may cause considerable differences in responses. While some researchers of subjective well-being have, in fact, discussed the role of survey factors and acknowledged that these aspects account for a significant portion of the variance in satisfaction measured, by and large, this issue has been ignored by most economists using this type of data. Other economic researchers abandon subjective survey data altogether and routinely refer to the work of Bertrand and Mullainathan (2001).
By analysing life satisfaction responses in one of the largest panel studies available, the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), I examine the role of interview-specific factors, such as the survey method used and the length of the questionnaire, in order to clarify when critics of survey data have well justified concerns but also when they are simply wrong. The goal is to enhance empirical research based on survey data and to direct researchers’ attention to the real problems with such data in order to avoid drawing inaccurate conclusions.

Kontakt

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