This research project re-examines and evaluates the external political efficacy constructs used in the American National Election Survey. These measures have gone largely unchanged since their conception in the 1950’s despite having reliability and validity issues. We argue for an overhaul of the current measures and propose robust, viable alternatives. In our project, we present a new external efficacy construct based on qualitative and quantitative research, including surveys and focus groups. Pre-tests have found our new measure to be robust to theoretical expectations and consistent across subgroups.
Project Team:
- Katherine Haenschen, Principal Investigator
- Kevin Drakulich, Principal Investigator
- Anna Zhang, Graduate Research Assistant
Publications:
This project was presented as “Introducing a New External Efficacy” at the American Political Science Association 2024 Annual Meeting as part of the “Contemporary Issues in Public Opinion Research Methods” panel: https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/apsa/apsa24/index.php?cmd=Online+Program+View+Session&selected_session_id=2156418&PHPSESSID=g7p4egpt68pigt5vvgraovhgee
