Placebo statements in list experiments: Evidence from a face-to-face survey in Singapore

List experiments are a widely used survey technique for estimating the prevalence of socially sensitive attitudes or behaviors. Their design, however, makes them vulnerable to bias: because treatment group respondents see a greater number of items (J + 1) than control group respondents (J), the trea...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Riambau Armet, Guillem, Ostwald, Kai
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/175443
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/175443
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Mètodes experimentals
Placebos
Enquestes
Singapur
Experimental methods
Placebos (Medicine)
Surveys
Singapore
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spelling Placebo statements in list experiments: Evidence from a face-to-face survey in SingaporeRiambau Armet, GuillemOstwald, KaiMètodes experimentalsPlacebosEnquestesSingapurExperimental methodsPlacebos (Medicine)SurveysSingaporeList experiments are a widely used survey technique for estimating the prevalence of socially sensitive attitudes or behaviors. Their design, however, makes them vulnerable to bias: because treatment group respondents see a greater number of items (J + 1) than control group respondents (J), the treatment group mean may be mechanically inflated due simply to the greater number of items. The few previous studies that directly examine this do not arrive at definitive conclusions. We find clear evidence of inflation in an original dataset, though only among respondents with low educational attainment. Furthermore, we use available data from previous studies and find similar heterogeneous patterns. The evidence of heterogeneous effects has implications for the interpretation of previous research using list experiments, especially in developing world contexts. We recommend a simple solution: using a necessarily false placebo statement for the control group equalizes list lengths, thereby protecting against mechanical inflation without imposing costs or altering interpretations.Cambridge University Press2021info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersionapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/2445/175443Articles publicats en revistes (Economia)reponame:Dipòsit Digital de la UBinstname:Universidad de BarcelonaInglésVersió postprint del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1017/psrm.2020.18Political Science Research and Methods, 2021, vol. 9, num. 1, p. 172-179https://doi.org/10.1017/psrm.2020.18(c) Riambau Armet, Guillem et al., 2021info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/1754432026-05-27T06:46:51Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Placebo statements in list experiments: Evidence from a face-to-face survey in Singapore
title Placebo statements in list experiments: Evidence from a face-to-face survey in Singapore
spellingShingle Placebo statements in list experiments: Evidence from a face-to-face survey in Singapore
Riambau Armet, Guillem
Mètodes experimentals
Placebos
Enquestes
Singapur
Experimental methods
Placebos (Medicine)
Surveys
Singapore
title_short Placebo statements in list experiments: Evidence from a face-to-face survey in Singapore
title_full Placebo statements in list experiments: Evidence from a face-to-face survey in Singapore
title_fullStr Placebo statements in list experiments: Evidence from a face-to-face survey in Singapore
title_full_unstemmed Placebo statements in list experiments: Evidence from a face-to-face survey in Singapore
title_sort Placebo statements in list experiments: Evidence from a face-to-face survey in Singapore
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Riambau Armet, Guillem
Ostwald, Kai
author Riambau Armet, Guillem
author_facet Riambau Armet, Guillem
Ostwald, Kai
author_role author
author2 Ostwald, Kai
author2_role author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Mètodes experimentals
Placebos
Enquestes
Singapur
Experimental methods
Placebos (Medicine)
Surveys
Singapore
topic Mètodes experimentals
Placebos
Enquestes
Singapur
Experimental methods
Placebos (Medicine)
Surveys
Singapore
description List experiments are a widely used survey technique for estimating the prevalence of socially sensitive attitudes or behaviors. Their design, however, makes them vulnerable to bias: because treatment group respondents see a greater number of items (J + 1) than control group respondents (J), the treatment group mean may be mechanically inflated due simply to the greater number of items. The few previous studies that directly examine this do not arrive at definitive conclusions. We find clear evidence of inflation in an original dataset, though only among respondents with low educational attainment. Furthermore, we use available data from previous studies and find similar heterogeneous patterns. The evidence of heterogeneous effects has implications for the interpretation of previous research using list experiments, especially in developing world contexts. We recommend a simple solution: using a necessarily false placebo statement for the control group equalizes list lengths, thereby protecting against mechanical inflation without imposing costs or altering interpretations.
publishDate 2021
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2021
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
format article
status_str acceptedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/2445/175443
url https://hdl.handle.net/2445/175443
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Versió postprint del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1017/psrm.2020.18
Political Science Research and Methods, 2021, vol. 9, num. 1, p. 172-179
https://doi.org/10.1017/psrm.2020.18
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv (c) Riambau Armet, Guillem et al., 2021
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv (c) Riambau Armet, Guillem et al., 2021
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Cambridge University Press
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Cambridge University Press
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Articles publicats en revistes (Economia)
reponame:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
instname:Universidad de Barcelona
instname_str Universidad de Barcelona
reponame_str Dipòsit Digital de la UB
collection Dipòsit Digital de la UB
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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score 15,300724

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