Is the left-right scale a valid measure of ideology? Individual-level variation in associations with "left" and "right" and left-right self-placement

Barberá, Pablo, Bauer, Paul C., Ackermann, Kathrin and Venetz, Aaron (2017) Is the left-right scale a valid measure of ideology? Individual-level variation in associations with "left" and "right" and left-right self-placement. Political Behavior, 39 (3). pp. 553-583. ISSN 0190-9320

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Abstract

In order to measure ideology, political scientists heavily rely on the so-called left-right scale. Left and right are, however, abstract political concepts and may trigger different associations among respondents. If these associations vary systematically with other variables this may induce bias in the empirical study of ideology. We illustrate this problem using a unique survey that asked respondents open-ended questions regarding the meanings they attribute to the concepts "left" and "right". We assess and categorize this textual data using topic modeling techniques. Our analysis shows that variation in respondents’ associations is systematically related to their self-placement on the left-right scale and also to variables such as education and respondents’ cultural background (East vs. West Germany). Our findings indicate that the interpersonal comparability of the left-right scale across individuals is impaired. More generally, our study suggests that we need more research on how respondents interpret various abstract concepts that we regularly use in survey questions.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://link.springer.com/journal/11109
Additional Information:	© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York
Divisions:	Methodology
Subjects:	J Political Science > JC Political theory
Date Deposited:	11 Apr 2018 11:39
Last Modified:	26 Apr 2024 04:09
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/87408

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