Willem E Saris
Biographic Data
| ID | 164257 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Willem E Saris |
| GIVEN NAMES | Willem E |
| FAMILY NAME | Saris |
| SIGNATURE | SARIS W E |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Amsterdam |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2513-8589 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 47 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 282 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 41 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 6 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1975 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2023 |
| H-INDEX | 10 |
Same same…but different
Measurement of citizen support for democracy has been problematic, as most research on the topic has focused on assessing support for an abstract concept: the “ideal” of democracy. This article proposes a different conception of democratic support, labeled “solid democratic support”, which combines multiple items tapping attitudes towards various essential attributes of democratic rule. Using data from the AmericasBarometer surveys, the “solid su…
Correcting Correlation and Covariance Matrices for Measurement Errors Before Further Analysis
Although the approach to correct for measurement errors in research has been known since the early 1970s, most researchers in the social sciences appear to ignore these recommendations. One possible reason is that the models with latent variables that were originally suggested may be too difficult to apply in practice. We suggest an alternative but simpler procedure to correct for measurement errors. If one knows the sizes of the random errors an…
Studies in Public Opinion
Studies in Public Opinion
Testing the Comparability of Different Types of Social Indicators Across Groups
Measurement Invariance in Multilingual Survey Research
The relationship between issues and an individual’s left–right orientation
Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research
Choosing the Number of Categories in Agree-Disagree Scales
Although agree-disagree (AD) rating scales suffer from acquiescence response bias, entail enhanced cognitive burden, and yield data of lower quality, these scales remain popular with researchers due to practical considerations (e.g., ease of item preparation, speed of administration, and reduced administration costs). This article shows that if researchers want to use AD scales, they should offer 5 answer categories rather than 7 or 11, because t…
Testing a New Operationalization of the Basic Values on Estonian- and Russian-speaking Subpopulations in Estonia
A Comparison of the Quality of Questions in a Face-to-face and a Web Survey
Up until now, most surveys have used face-to-face interviews, postal mail, or the telephone to collect data. However, today the difficulties of carrying out surveys at reasonable costs have increased. Simultaneously, new opportunities have appeared. In particular, web surveys, which are usually cheaper, offer more flexibility, and can reach a large population in a short time, are becoming very attractive. Nevertheless, different modes of data col…
Measurement of Social Participation and its Place in Social Capital Theory
Testing Structural Equation Models or Detection of Misspecifications?
Assessing the correctness of a structural equation model is essential to avoid drawing incorrect conclusions from empirical research. In the past, the chi-square test was recommended for assessing the correctness of the model but this test has been criticized because of its sensitivity to sample size. As a reaction, an abundance of fit indexes have been developed. The result of these developments is that structural equation modeling packages are …
Quality of Media Use Measurement
Journal Article Quality of Media Use Measurement Get access Lluís Coromina, Lluís Coromina Lluís Coromina is lecturer at the University of Girona (Spain). He is working on quality data measurement and questionnaire design in social sciences. He is also working on social networks analysis field. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Willem E. Saris Willem E. Saris Willem Saris is professor at ESADE, Universitat R…
Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research
This book aims to give students and survey researchers a state-of-the-art introduction to questionnaire design. The authors are recognized experts in their fields and have experience in teaching and research. While many researchers discover that their questions do not work post-hoc, this book alerts designers of questionnaires to the many decisions they make that will affect the quality of the research outcome. Most importantly, the book presents…
Design, Evaluation, And Analysis Of Questionnaires For Survey Research
Design, evaluation, and analysis of questionnaires for survey research
This book aims to give students and survey researchers a state-of-the-art introduction to questionnaire design. The authors are recognized experts in their fields and have experience in teaching and research. While many researchers discover that their questions do not work post-hoc, this book alerts designers of questionnaires to the many decisions they make that will affect the quality of the research outcome. Most importantly, the book presents…
Studies in Public Opinion
Evaluation of Measurement Instruments Using a Structural Modeling Approach
A New Approach to Evaluating the Quality of Measurement Instruments
Two distinctly different quantitative approaches are used to evaluate measurement instruments: the split-ballot experiment and the multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) approach. The first approach is typically used to indicate whether variation in the method causes differences in the response distribution; the second approach evaluates the reliability and validity of different methods. The new approach, suggested in this paper, combines the more attract…
To Participate or Not to Participate
Survey participation, electoral participation, and political interest have been given wide attention in the research literature, but no one so far has combined these three variables in one model. Taking the social isolation-hypothesis as our starting point, we developed a model with one factor, social involvement, as the common factor underlying these three types of participation. We reviewed the literature and concluded that we had to include a …
Estimating the reliability and validity of personal support measures
The Relationship between Income and Satisfaction
The Strength of the Causal Relationship between Living Conditions and Satisfaction
This article attempts to explicate the subjective variable satisfaction with life in general by means of the objective variable income. The reason for this study is that, so far, the objective living conditions have been found to have little effect on the subjective feelings of people. Several different approaches have been used to estimate the strength of this relationship. First, correction for measurement errors was tried, then an alternative …
The Relationship between Subjective Well-being and Domain Satisfactions in South Africa
Choosing the Number of Categories in Agree-Disagree Scales
Although agree-disagree (AD) rating scales suffer from acquiescence response bias, entail enhanced cognitive burden, and yield data of lower quality, these scales remain popular with researchers due to practical considerations (e.g., ease of item preparation, speed of administration, and reduced administration costs). This article shows that if researchers want to use AD scales, they should offer 5 answer categories rather than 7 or 11, because t…
Studies in Public Opinion
Measurement of Social Participation and its Place in Social Capital Theory
To Participate or Not to Participate
Survey participation, electoral participation, and political interest have been given wide attention in the research literature, but no one so far has combined these three variables in one model. Taking the social isolation-hypothesis as our starting point, we developed a model with one factor, social involvement, as the common factor underlying these three types of participation. We reviewed the literature and concluded that we had to include a …
A New Approach to Evaluating the Quality of Measurement Instruments
Two distinctly different quantitative approaches are used to evaluate measurement instruments: the split-ballot experiment and the multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) approach. The first approach is typically used to indicate whether variation in the method causes differences in the response distribution; the second approach evaluates the reliability and validity of different methods. The new approach, suggested in this paper, combines the more attract…
Causal direction in a model of life satisfaction
The Relationship between Subjective Well-being and Domain Satisfactions in South Africa
The relationship between issues and an individual’s left–right orientation
The Validity and Reliability of Survey Questions
Inspired by the research of Frank Andrews on the reliability and validity of survey questions, a large-scale research project was conducted in the Netherlands. The project was comprised of two different stages. For this project, more than 600 survey questions were included in different surveys according to a multitrait-multimethod design. The resulting data were analyzed in two steps. In the first step, estimates of validity and reliability were …
A Comparison of the Quality of Questions in a Face-to-face and a Web Survey
Up until now, most surveys have used face-to-face interviews, postal mail, or the telephone to collect data. However, today the difficulties of carrying out surveys at reasonable costs have increased. Simultaneously, new opportunities have appeared. In particular, web surveys, which are usually cheaper, offer more flexibility, and can reach a large population in a short time, are becoming very attractive. Nevertheless, different modes of data col…
Validity and Reliability of Subjective Social Indicators
Strategy Choices of Foreign Policy Decision Makers
The assessment of the selection of strategy is studied using documents of a specific case of Dutch foreign policy from the beginning of World War I. First, a content analysis procedure was developed in order to search for the relevant concepts in the documents and to represent the argumentations in decision trees. Thereafter, the applicability of several decision critena to the data is discussed. In order to describe the data, an alternative deci…
The Relationship between Income and Satisfaction
Arms Races
Arms races have been the subject of many and various explanations, but of few formal theories which manage to combine the virtues of plausibility and parsimony. Perhaps the best known is Richardson's, to which interesting modifications have been proposed by Smoker, Saaty and most recently Hamblin et al.2 Common to all these models is the assumption that arms races can be explained by an action-reaction process between the two nations involved
The Strength of the Causal Relationship between Living Conditions and Satisfaction
This article attempts to explicate the subjective variable satisfaction with life in general by means of the objective variable income. The reason for this study is that, so far, the objective living conditions have been found to have little effect on the subjective feelings of people. Several different approaches have been used to estimate the strength of this relationship. First, correction for measurement errors was tried, then an alternative …
Mobilization potential for environmental protest
Mobilization potential constitutes an important concept for the theory of political mobilization. Three types of mobilization potential and their interrelationships are studied for the domain of environmental policy in the Netherlands: the general protest potential introduced by the Political Action Study, issue-specific potential, and movement-specific potential. It is shown that, even within this single policy domain, issue-specific potential v…
Vote probabilities
From individual preferences to group decisions in foreign policy decision making
This article describes the process of the aggregation of individual ministerial preferences into group decisions in a national cabinet, on the basis of a sample of crucial Dutch foreign policy decisions as described in the minutes of the council of ministers. The results of the study show that decisions in the cabinet were mainly made according to the norms of this group, which were consensus and the non‐interference of ministers in issues not co…
The Evaluation of Measurement Instruments By Meta-Analysis of Multitrait-Multimethod Studies
L'évaluation des instruments de mesure par analyse secondaire d'études multitraits-multiméthodes. La qualité des données d'une enquête peut être affectée par plusieurs caractéristiques des instruments de mesure, comme la longueur de la question et la manière dont elle est posée, la disposition de l'échelle de réponse, le nombre et l'intitulé des modalités de réponse. Pour évaluer ces instruments de mesure on utilise souvent la procédure multitrai…
Quality of Media Use Measurement
Journal Article Quality of Media Use Measurement Get access Lluís Coromina, Lluís Coromina Lluís Coromina is lecturer at the University of Girona (Spain). He is working on quality data measurement and questionnaire design in social sciences. He is also working on social networks analysis field. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Willem E. Saris Willem E. Saris Willem Saris is professor at ESADE, Universitat R…
Large Differences in Time Use for Three Data Collection Systems
True Score or Factor Models
In the February 1987 issue of Sociological Methods and Research several articles were published that dealt with the same data set. These data focused on attitudes toward guest workers. The purpose of that study was to demonstrate the application of measurement models, especially with respect to random measurement error, on large-scale survey data. Since we think that such studies are very valuable, we want to continue the discussion on measuremen…
Optimal Procedures for Estimation of Factor Scores
This study identifies three different applications of factor scores which lead to three different sets of criteria for optimal estimation procedures. The regression method and the Bartlett method best satisfy the first two sets of criteria, and a generalized Anderson and Rubin procedure is optimal for the third set of criteria. The differences between the methods have been illustrated by an example
Testing the Comparability of Different Types of Social Indicators Across Groups
Measurement Invariance in Multilingual Survey Research
L'application d'un modèle de décision à des données historiques
THE APPLICATION OF A DECISION-MAKING MODEL TO HISTORICAL DATA, by W.E. SARIS and I.N. SARIS-GALLHOFER During the preparatory phase which preceded the Cambrai peace agreement concluded in 1529 between Francis I and Charles Quint, the latter corresponded secretly with his aunt, Margaret of Austria regent of the Netherlands, about the nature and importance of what was at stake in the coming negotiations. What claims should be presented to the advers…
Optimal Procedures for Estimation of Factor Scores
This study identifies three different applications of factor scores which lead to three different sets of criteria for optimal estimation procedures. The regression method and the Bartlett method best satisfy the first two sets of criteria, and a generalized Anderson and Rubin procedure is optimal for the third set of criteria. The differences between the methods have been illustrated by an example
Detection of Specification Errors in Linear Structural Equation Models
Strategy Choices of Foreign Policy Decision Makers
The assessment of the selection of strategy is studied using documents of a specific case of Dutch foreign policy from the beginning of World War I. First, a content analysis procedure was developed in order to search for the relevant concepts in the documents and to represent the argumentations in decision trees. Thereafter, the applicability of several decision critena to the data is discussed. In order to describe the data, an alternative deci…
Arms Races
Arms races have been the subject of many and various explanations, but of few formal theories which manage to combine the virtues of plausibility and parsimony. Perhaps the best known is Richardson's, to which interesting modifications have been proposed by Smoker, Saaty and most recently Hamblin et al.2 Common to all these models is the assumption that arms races can be explained by an action-reaction process between the two nations involved
Reply to Smith
Although we appreciate the attention the critic has given to our paper, we are somewhat disappointed about the kind of criticism. It is said that the ‘empirical analysis is fundamentally flawed’. But if the analysis is flawed it must be very easy to show it by a reanalysis of the data. However, if one takes the time to look at the data used in this study one can see immediately that when the USSR's level of armaments is very low the USA is produc…
Power of the Likelihood Ratio Test in Covariance Structure Analysis
A procedure for computing the power of the likelihood ratio test used in the context of covariance structure analysis is derived. The procedure uses statistics associated with the standard output of the computer programs commonly used and assumes that a specific alternative value of the parameter vector is specified. Using the noncentral Chi-square distribution, the power of the test is approximated by the asymptotic one for a sequence of local a…
Sociometric Research
Sociometric Research
True Score or Factor Models
In the February 1987 issue of Sociological Methods and Research several articles were published that dealt with the same data set. These data focused on attitudes toward guest workers. The purpose of that study was to demonstrate the application of measurement models, especially with respect to random measurement error, on large-scale survey data. Since we think that such studies are very valuable, we want to continue the discussion on measuremen…
Sociometric Research
Sociometric Research
Vote probabilities
Design of experimental studies for measurement and evaluation of the determinants of Job Satisfaction
The Evaluation of Measurement Instruments By Meta-Analysis of Multitrait-Multimethod Studies
L'évaluation des instruments de mesure par analyse secondaire d'études multitraits-multiméthodes. La qualité des données d'une enquête peut être affectée par plusieurs caractéristiques des instruments de mesure, comme la longueur de la question et la manière dont elle est posée, la disposition de l'échelle de réponse, le nombre et l'intitulé des modalités de réponse. Pour évaluer ces instruments de mesure on utilise souvent la procédure multitrai…
Mobilization potential for environmental protest
Mobilization potential constitutes an important concept for the theory of political mobilization. Three types of mobilization potential and their interrelationships are studied for the domain of environmental policy in the Netherlands: the general protest potential introduced by the Political Action Study, issue-specific potential, and movement-specific potential. It is shown that, even within this single policy domain, issue-specific potential v…
From individual preferences to group decisions in foreign policy decision making
This article describes the process of the aggregation of individual ministerial preferences into group decisions in a national cabinet, on the basis of a sample of crucial Dutch foreign policy decisions as described in the minutes of the council of ministers. The results of the study show that decisions in the cabinet were mainly made according to the norms of this group, which were consensus and the non‐interference of ministers in issues not co…
Causal direction in a model of life satisfaction
The Validity and Reliability of Survey Questions
Inspired by the research of Frank Andrews on the reliability and validity of survey questions, a large-scale research project was conducted in the Netherlands. The project was comprised of two different stages. For this project, more than 600 survey questions were included in different surveys according to a multitrait-multimethod design. The resulting data were analyzed in two steps. In the first step, estimates of validity and reliability were …
Validity and Reliability of Subjective Social Indicators
Large Differences in Time Use for Three Data Collection Systems
Stability of Life-satisfaction over Time
The Relationship between Income and Satisfaction
The Strength of the Causal Relationship between Living Conditions and Satisfaction
This article attempts to explicate the subjective variable satisfaction with life in general by means of the objective variable income. The reason for this study is that, so far, the objective living conditions have been found to have little effect on the subjective feelings of people. Several different approaches have been used to estimate the strength of this relationship. First, correction for measurement errors was tried, then an alternative …
The Relationship between Subjective Well-being and Domain Satisfactions in South Africa
Mathematics (31 works) · Psychology (29 works) · Computer Science (25 works) · Statistics (25 works) · Econometrics (17 works) · Political science (17 works) · Economics (12 works) · Psychometric Methodologies and Testing (11 works) · Law (10 works) · Politics (10 works)