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Telephone versus Online Survey Modes for Election Studies: Comparing Canadian Public Opinion and Vote Choice in the 2015 Federal Election

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 August 2017

Charles Breton ,
Fred Cutler ,
Sarah Lachance  and
Alex Mierke-Zatwarnicki
Charles Breton*
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia
Fred Cutler*
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia
Sarah Lachance*
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia
Alex Mierke-Zatwarnicki*
Affiliation:
Harvard University
*
Department of Political Science, University of British Columbia, 1866 Main Mall, Vancouver BC, V6T1Z1, email: cbreton@mail.ubc.ca (corresponding author)
Department of Political Science, 1866 Main Mall, Vancouver BC, V6T1Z1, email: fred.cutler@ubc.ca (corresponding author)
Department of Political Science, 1866 Main Mall, Vancouver BC, V6T1Z1, email: s.lachance@alumni.ubc.ca
Department of Government, Harvard University, 1737 Cambridge St., Cambridge MA 02138, email: amierkezatwarnicki@g.harvard.edu
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Abstract

Election studies must optimize on sample size, cost and data quality. The 2015 Canadian Election Study was the first CES to employ a full mixed-mode design, aiming to take advantage of the opportunities of each mode while preserving enough commonality to compare them. This paper examines the phone interviews conducted by ISR-York and the online questionnaires from panellists purchased from a sample provider. We compare data quality and representativeness. We conduct a comprehensive comparison of the distributions of responses across modes and a comparative analysis of inferences about voting. We find that the cost/power advantages of the online mode will likely make it the mode of choice for subsequent election studies.

Résumé

Les études électorales doivent optimiser la taille des échantillons, leur coût et la qualité des données. L’Étude électorale canadienne de 2015 a été la première ÉÉC qui a adopté un plan à mode de collecte mixte, visant à tirer parti des possibilités de chacun des modes tout en préservant suffisamment d’éléments communs pour permettre la comparaison. Cet article examine les interviews téléphoniques menées par l'Institut de recherche sociale (IRS) de l'Université York et les questionnaires des répondants en ligne achetés auprès d'un fournisseur d’échantillons. Nous comparons la qualité des données et la représentativité. Nous effectuons une comparaison complète des distributions des réponses selon les modes et une analyse comparative des inférences au sujet du vote. Nous constatons que du point de vue des avantages coûts-efficacité, il est probable que le mode en ligne représentera le mode de choix des études électorales ultérieures.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 50 , Issue 4 , December 2017 , pp. 1005 - 1036
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 2017 

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