Skip to main content

2015 BES innovations discussed in Montreal

The British Election Study Team
28/04/2014

Professor Ed Fieldhouse presented new innovations in the 2015 British Election Study at a workshop of election specialists hosted by Professor Andre Blais (University of Montreal) in March 2014. Ed highlighted innovations in the 2015 BES:

  • User experiments and proposals (‘playground’ items e.g. certainty scales)
  • Split sample for  alternative questions (e.g. PTV and party feeling scales; European integration position)
  • Randomisation of question placement (e.g. party ID, vote choice, MII, trust)
  • Randomisation of  question object within grid  (e.g. party leaders & issues for evaluation of performance & responsibility) and of response categories (e.g. social desirability)
  • Psychological characteristics: social desirability, risk taking
  • Individualised (pre-loaded) questions: who is your local MP?
  • Discussant network module: focus on turnout and household relationships (norms, expressive motives, costs).
  • Political knowledge quiz with pictures
  • Mapping local community
  • Social media analysis in the 2015 campaign: the iBES

Ed’s slides can be downloaded here. besmontreal