Does refusal bias influence the measurement of Chinese political trust?

Munro, N. (2018) Does refusal bias influence the measurement of Chinese political trust? Journal of Contemporary China, 27(111), pp. 457-471. (doi: 10.1080/10670564.2018.1410981)

[img]
Preview
Text
143518.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

1MB

Abstract

Measurements of Chinese political trust may be inaccurate due to ‘refusal bias’, resulting from unwillingness of people with certain attitudes to take part in surveys. Such bias is especially problematic because researchers usually have little or no information about refusers. Nevertheless, techniques have been developed which allow correction of refusal bias by extrapolating from reluctant or difficult respondents on the basis of various measures of response propensity. Using data from a nationwide survey conducted in China in the winter of 2012/13, this article shows that this type of correction procedure improves the accuracy of measurement of the Communist Party membership rate, and produces significantly lower estimates of trust in the central government/Party leadership, trust in local government and support for the current system of government. Refusal bias is likely to result from the social desirability of expressing political trust and support under authoritarian conditions.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Munro, Dr Neil
Authors: Munro, N.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
Journal Name:Journal of Contemporary China
Publisher:Taylor and Francis
ISSN:1067-0564
ISSN (Online):1469-9400
Published Online:17 December 2017
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2017 The Author
First Published:First published in Journal of Contemporary China 27(111):457-471
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record

Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
588031Rising Powers: Unequal Powers, Authoritarian Powers, Unstable Powers?Stephen WhiteEconomic and Social Research Council (ESRC)ES/J012688/1SPS - POLITICS
567651Performance evaluations, trust and utilization of health care in China: understanding relationships between attitudes and health-related behaviourJane DuckettEconomic and Social Research Council (ESRC)ES/J011487/1SPS - POLITICS