Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Gaining valid answers to so-called sensitive questions is an age-old problem in survey research. Various techniques have been developed to guarantee anonymity and minimize the respondent’s feelings of jeopardy. Two such techniques are the randomized response technique (RRT) and the unmatched count technique (UCT). In this study we evaluate the effectiveness of different implementations of the RRT (using a forced-response design) in a computer-assisted setting and also compare the use of the RRT to that of the UCT. The techniques are evaluated according to various quality criteria, such as the prevalence estimates they provide, the ease of their use, and respondent trust in the techniques. Our results indicate that the RRTs are problematic with respect to several domains, such as the limited trust they inspire and non-response, and that the RRT estimates are unreliable due to a strong false “no” bias, especially for the more sensitive questions. The UCT, however, performed well compared to the RRTs on all the evaluated measures. The UCT estimates also had more face validity than the RRT estimates. We conclude that the UCT is a promising alternative to RRT in self-administered surveys and that future research should be directed towards evaluating and improving the technique.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: For more than 60 years, mass communication researchers have relied on self-administered mail surveys to assess newspaper accuracy, asking people cited in news stories whether the information was correctly reported. But most accuracy studies involve a single local news market and the cooperation of the newspaper being examined, making comparison of news accuracy across newspapers and over time difficult if not impossible to assess. Seeking to provide an independent benchmark measure of newspaper accuracy in the United States, this study attempts to use Internet technology to overcome these limitations. Two methodological research questions are posed: (1) Using Internet search tools, is it feasible to generate a database of mail and email addresses for a large sample of news sources cited in news stories across the nation? (2) Will mixed-mode data collection, using mail and web-based surveys, enhance source participation?

Results show that new technology facilitates a cross-market accuracy survey of news sources. Working addresses were found for primary news sources cited in nearly all of the 7,600 newspaper stories in 20 U.S. markets studied. The response rate was 68 percent, indicating that news sources are willing to participate in a long-distance, independent survey. The response rate for the 10 newspapers in the mixed-mode experimental group was 6 percentage points greater than for the all-postal control group. The mixed-mode group also had fewer refusals, undeliverable addresses, and partially completed questionnaires. Respondents using the web questionnaire were significantly younger than those responding by mail, but otherwise differed only slightly in demographic make-up or in their assessment of newspaper accuracy. Mixed-mode data collection had an auxiliary benefit: Pre-notification letters by email provided a low-cost, rapid-response system of list validation, enabling researchers to correct addresses and other information before expensive mail surveys were sent.

Publication Type: Abstract
Abstract: Objectives/intent:
• Implement an active, problem solving method for teaching large groups of students with limited resources.
• Improve student learning by utilizing immediate, corrective feedback.
Methods/process: 130 students are placed into 24 groups of 5-6 students. Students prepare for the exercise by reading assignments and/or lectures. During the class hour, students receive a patient case that applies information learned during their advance preparation. Students individually answer a series of multiple choice questions based on the case. Students then work as a group to repeat the exercise by discussing the questions and coming to consensus on the correct response. Answers are recorded on the IF-AT form, a scratch off version of the scantron answer sheet. A star indicates the correct answer. If incorrect, the student group can choose a second or third choice for partial credit. Each student receives the grade achieved by the group activity.
Results/outcomes: Application of the IF-AT improved student attendance. Faculty who used the technique reported that groups were fully engaged in the process. Data from student surveys will be analyzed prior to the July meeting.
Implications: Application of the IF-AT process permits one instructor to conduct group learning in a large class with little or no assistance. Students are fully engaged in problem solving with immediate feedback on their performance. The IF-AT is well-suited to progressive activities where students need to discern the correct information before proceeding to the next step. This process can be used in a variety of disciplines within the pharmaceutical sciences.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Research on women in politics, like most work in political science, gravitates towards large-n statistical analyses or small-n case studies. Employing these conventional techniques, it offers relatively consistent explanations for cross-national differences in the percentage of women elected to national parliaments. This apparent consensus, however, obscures important disagreements among scholars that -- combined with recent empirical developments -- cast doubt on the causal effect of central variables, most notably the role of the electoral system and women's social and economic status in facilitating or undermining women's access to political office. Exploring the possibilities of qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), this paper outlines the methodological trade-offs involved in analyzing common trends across many cases (the large-n solution), unique trajectories across a few cases (the small-n solution), and causal diversity across a middle range of cases (the medium-n solution).

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This is a study of Kant's treatment of the sacred in Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason. Throughout his attempt to articulate a rational religion Kant emphasizes the need to keep a “respectful distance” from the sacred. For Kant the sacred should not be, and indeed cannot be, eliminated from our thinking about ethics or politics. But while the sacred must be present, it is a bare presence. Kant wants us to do little other than acknowledge the sacred: we should not attempt to harness it, rely upon it, or master it. The mere attempt would threaten our freedom. Kant's stance can be seen as a concern about what Martin Heidegger calls “technique” - an as yet unnamed and still incipient phenomenon in Kant’s own time. Technique is a way that being appears to us in modernity. Under the sway of technique beings are disclosed as resources that are at our disposal for unspecified ends. This study argues that although Kant attempts to avoid the logic of technique, technique is - ultimately - still apparent in his treatment of the sacred. Kant’s work, then, illuminates the predicament of technique: even the will to evade technique is often marked by technique. This study is preparatory for a critique of attempts within political theory to harness the sacred in order to enhance political or ethical community. Insofar as we think technique is a problem, such efforts to theorize the political sacred may be problematic.