Measurement Error When Surveying Democratic Support: A MultiTrait MultiError Approach

Measurement Error When Surveying Democratic Support: A MultiTrait MultiError Approach | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Measurement Error When Surveying Democratic Support: A MultiTrait MultiError Approach Kim Backström, Alexandru Cernat, Inga Saikkonen, Kim Strandberg This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8660639/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Recent studies have suggested that support for democracy may be in decline even in some established democracies. To better understand these processes, it is essential to measure such complex concepts as support for democracy correctly, since attitudinal survey questions are affected by measurement error. This study investigates the effect of different types of measurement error on survey items measuring democratic support. The items were specifically designed to achieve high construct validity. The study is based on two waves of the Finnish Citizens’ Opinion panel using a MultiTrait MultiError (MTME) approach. We estimate concurrently correlated errors (social desirability bias, acquiescence bias, method effects) and random error. The design manipulates statement framing, response scale direction, and scale polarity across two measurement points while employing latent variable modeling to estimate the errors. We find that correlated errors make up a relatively small proportion of the error, suggesting less pronounced measurement validity issues. We find a much higher proportion of random error, suggesting higher levels of attitude instability. Still, there is significant variance both between survey items and different forms. Moreover, differences in random error structure suggest that attitude instability is greatly reduced when respondents can anchor democratic norms to recent ‘real-world’ events. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files mtmedemocracysubmittedpobeappendix.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8660639","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":589231803,"identity":"565dc59f-ecca-46b8-ba07-e608251e113c","order_by":0,"name":"Kim Backström","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA30lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACCWYGBiBiMIBwKxgSGBgYHxwgTgsbiHsGpIXZAL8WBmQtjG0QLXgdJtnOncBcUGNnLD+/9+Gjm/Ps8vgZmBnx2iLNzLuBecaxZDODY+zGxrnbkoslG5gZ8GqRA2nhYTtgY8DGxiadu405ccMB/gNEaPl3wEa+DaRlTj1QCwFbwA7jbTtgxnAMpKXhMGEtks28Gw7P7Es2NjiWxmycc+x4sWQzAS0S589ufFzwzc5wfvMxxsc5NdV5/OzNzB/waQEBNDOZCakfBaNgFIyCUUAQAAB5MEIaHiUn0gAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Åbo Akademi University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kim","middleName":"","lastName":"Backström","suffix":""},{"id":589231804,"identity":"655decd0-2fbc-435d-8237-feeadaa73039","order_by":1,"name":"Alexandru Cernat","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Manchester","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Alexandru","middleName":"","lastName":"Cernat","suffix":""},{"id":589231805,"identity":"0c1e6e2f-a059-49d1-8c25-e13ed217c8e6","order_by":2,"name":"Inga Saikkonen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Åbo Akademi University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Inga","middleName":"","lastName":"Saikkonen","suffix":""},{"id":589231806,"identity":"55da018b-1d18-4a9f-be4c-09d593a41f58","order_by":3,"name":"Kim Strandberg","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Åbo Akademi University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kim","middleName":"","lastName":"Strandberg","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-21 13:57:04","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8660639/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8660639/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":103506060,"identity":"75492b11-df5e-4122-aa05-00182d665656","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-26 13:33:58","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2183067,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"mtmedemocracysubmittedpobemanuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8660639/v1_covered_31f57ab6-b8f8-4edf-b70f-3fbb786001ba.pdf"},{"id":103248868,"identity":"1bb555d6-b558-4d1a-a990-56233e10ca0f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-23 15:37:50","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":19699092,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"mtmedemocracysubmittedpobeappendix.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8660639/v1/f8e49490db5936e14b7ed4be.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Measurement Error When Surveying Democratic Support: A MultiTrait MultiError Approach","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8660639/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8660639/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eRecent studies have suggested that support for democracy may be in decline even in some established democracies. 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