Income and outcomes: Social desirability bias distorts measurements of the relationship between income and political behavior

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Standard

Income and outcomes : Social desirability bias distorts measurements of the relationship between income and political behavior. / Hariri, Jacob Gerner; Lassen, David Dreyer.

In: Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 81, No. 2, 2017, p. 564-576.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Harvard

Hariri, JG & Lassen, DD 2017, 'Income and outcomes: Social desirability bias distorts measurements of the relationship between income and political behavior', Public Opinion Quarterly, vol. 81, no. 2, pp. 564-576. https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfw044

APA

Hariri, J. G., & Lassen, D. D. (2017). Income and outcomes: Social desirability bias distorts measurements of the relationship between income and political behavior. Public Opinion Quarterly, 81(2), 564-576. https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfw044

Vancouver

Hariri JG, Lassen DD. Income and outcomes: Social desirability bias distorts measurements of the relationship between income and political behavior. Public Opinion Quarterly. 2017;81(2):564-576. https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfw044

Author

Hariri, Jacob Gerner ; Lassen, David Dreyer. / Income and outcomes : Social desirability bias distorts measurements of the relationship between income and political behavior. In: Public Opinion Quarterly. 2017 ; Vol. 81, No. 2. pp. 564-576.

Bibtex

@article{3b35e78fabcb4676b3b62fb9bd91d709,
title = "Income and outcomes: Social desirability bias distorts measurements of the relationship between income and political behavior",
abstract = "Much empirical work in the social sciences relies on the accuracy of survey responses. Of all the questions answered by survey respondents, few are as common as those concerning income: Income is a crucial determinant of an individual{\textquoteright}s attitudes and behaviors and a standard correlate in political science survey research. This paper uses Danish administrative records to identify systematic error in survey respondents{\textquoteright} self-reported income. We show that income overreporting is most pronounced among individuals who share the characteristics of high-income individuals, in ways that suggest the presence of social desirability bias. Further, this leads to biased estimates and distorted conclusions in a number of common applications in political science, but a simple logarithmic transformation eliminates the bias. More broadly, our results indicate that to understand the income–attitudes nexus in a given context, survey researchers should take into account social desirability bias and the pattern of income misreporting in that context.",
author = "Hariri, {Jacob Gerner} and Lassen, {David Dreyer}",
year = "2017",
doi = "10.1093/poq/nfw044",
language = "English",
volume = "81",
pages = "564--576",
journal = "Public Opinion Quarterly",
issn = "0033-362X",
publisher = "Oxford University Press",
number = "2",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Income and outcomes

T2 - Social desirability bias distorts measurements of the relationship between income and political behavior

AU - Hariri, Jacob Gerner

AU - Lassen, David Dreyer

PY - 2017

Y1 - 2017

N2 - Much empirical work in the social sciences relies on the accuracy of survey responses. Of all the questions answered by survey respondents, few are as common as those concerning income: Income is a crucial determinant of an individual’s attitudes and behaviors and a standard correlate in political science survey research. This paper uses Danish administrative records to identify systematic error in survey respondents’ self-reported income. We show that income overreporting is most pronounced among individuals who share the characteristics of high-income individuals, in ways that suggest the presence of social desirability bias. Further, this leads to biased estimates and distorted conclusions in a number of common applications in political science, but a simple logarithmic transformation eliminates the bias. More broadly, our results indicate that to understand the income–attitudes nexus in a given context, survey researchers should take into account social desirability bias and the pattern of income misreporting in that context.

AB - Much empirical work in the social sciences relies on the accuracy of survey responses. Of all the questions answered by survey respondents, few are as common as those concerning income: Income is a crucial determinant of an individual’s attitudes and behaviors and a standard correlate in political science survey research. This paper uses Danish administrative records to identify systematic error in survey respondents’ self-reported income. We show that income overreporting is most pronounced among individuals who share the characteristics of high-income individuals, in ways that suggest the presence of social desirability bias. Further, this leads to biased estimates and distorted conclusions in a number of common applications in political science, but a simple logarithmic transformation eliminates the bias. More broadly, our results indicate that to understand the income–attitudes nexus in a given context, survey researchers should take into account social desirability bias and the pattern of income misreporting in that context.

U2 - 10.1093/poq/nfw044

DO - 10.1093/poq/nfw044

M3 - Journal article

VL - 81

SP - 564

EP - 576

JO - Public Opinion Quarterly

JF - Public Opinion Quarterly

SN - 0033-362X

IS - 2

ER -

ID: 154438459