Split Ballot Survey

Three aspects of the most important problem question used in agenda-setting research to measure issue salience among the public were examined. A split-ballot in a state-wide survey compared versions of the public agenda with a social frame of reference versus a personal frame of reference, versions using the traditional term problem versus issue, and the effects of question order. High correlations between the different versions were found in all three sets of comparisons.

SurveyAnalytics commonly uses split ballot survey to test the effects of alternate versions of question wordings on randomly assigned groups of respondents. It has been used by a number of scholars to more accurately estimate the levels of sensitive attitudes and behaviors.

Data from the two split-ballot surveys permit comparison of knowledge levels as conventionally measured in political science and as measured in accordance with established norms in the field of educational testing.

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