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Surveys in the Interest Group Field

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  • First Online:
The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs

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Definition

Scholars use a variety of research methods to study interest group formation, presence, and influence. The application of survey research has been a successful method for obtaining group-specific information across a variety of organizational types and settings. This chapter provides an overview of how surveys have been used to study interest groups with a focus on research questions, sampling procedures, and response rates.

Introduction

Scholars have studied interest groups’ role in the policy process from many angles using a variety of methodological approaches including case studies of individual organizations, in-depth interviews with government actors and advocates, and aggregate level analysis of organizational activities and presence. Some of these approaches (e.g., case studies, interviews) can lack generalizability while aggregate level analysis may miss details about organizations’ internal operations and activities. Survey research has been a successful method for...

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References

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Further Reading

  • Beyers, J., Fink-Hafner, D., Maloney, W., Novak, M., & Heylen, F. (2020). The comparative interest group-survey project: Design, practical lessons, and data sets. Interest Groups & Advocacy. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41309-020-00082-0.

  • Beyers, J., Chaqués Bonafont, L., Dür, A., Eising, R., Fink-Hafner, D., Lowery, D., Mahoney, C., Maloney, W., & Naurin, D. (2014). The INTEREURO project: Logic and structure. Interest Groups & Advocacy, 3(2), 126–140.

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  • Marchetti, K. (2015). The use of surveys in interest group research. Interest Groups & Advocacy, 4(3), 272–282.

    Google Scholar 

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA, USA

    Kathleen Marchetti

Authors
  1. Kathleen Marchetti
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kathleen Marchetti .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Chester Business School, Chester, UK

    Phil Harris

  2. University of South Africa (UNISA), Pretoria, South Africa

    Phil Harris

  3. Good Governance Institute, London, UK

    Phil Harris

  4. Università della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano, Switzerland

    Alberto Bitonti

  5. Aurora WDC/Medical, College of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

    Craig S. Fleisher

  6. Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Anne Skorkjær Binderkrantz

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Anne Skorkjær Binderkrantz

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Marchetti, K. (2022). Surveys in the Interest Group Field. In: Harris, P., Bitonti, A., Fleisher, C.S., Binderkrantz, A.S. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44556-0_123

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