German Internet Panel Research Articles

“The Human Must Remain the Central Focus”: Subjective Fairness Perceptions in Automated Decision-Making

The increasing use of algorithms in allocating resources and services in both private industry and public administration has sparked discussions about their consequences for inequality and fairness in contemporary societies. Previous research has shown that the use of automated decision-making (ADM) tools in high-stakes scenarios like the legal justice system might lead to adverse societal outcomes, such as systematic discrimination. Scholars have since proposed a variety of metrics to counteract and mitigate biases in ADM processes. While these metrics focus on technical fairness notions, they do not consider how members of the public, as most affected subjects by algorithmic decisions, perceive fairness in ADM. To shed light on subjective fairness perceptions of individuals, this study analyzes individuals’ answers to open-ended fairness questions about hypothetical ADM scenarios that were embedded in the German Internet Panel (Wave 54, July 2021), a probability-based longitudinal online survey. Respondents evaluated the fairness of vignettes describing the use of ADM tools across different contexts. Subsequently, they explained their fairness evaluation providing a textual answer. Using qualitative content analysis, we inductively coded those answers (N = 3697). Based on their individual understanding of fairness, respondents addressed a wide range of aspects related to fairness in ADM which is reflected in the 23 codes we identified. We subsumed those codes under four overarching themes: Human elements in decision-making, Shortcomings of the data, Social impact of AI, and Properties of AI. Our codes and themes provide a valuable resource for understanding which factors influence public fairness perceptions about ADM.

How to Detect and Influence Looking Up Answers to Political Knowledge Questions in Web Surveys

Abstract When answering political knowledge questions in web surveys, respondents can look up the correct answer on the Internet. This response behavior artificially inflates political knowledge scores that are supposed to measure fact-based information. In the present study, we address the existing knowledge gaps of previous research regarding looking up answers to political knowledge questions in web surveys. We conducted an experimental study based on the German Internet Panel, a large-scale population survey that uses a probability-based sample. Based on this experiment, we show that instructions help to reduce the number of lookups to knowledge questions in web surveys. We provide further evidence that looking up answers results in more correct answers to knowledge questions and, thus, in inflated political knowledge scores. Finally, our findings illustrate the challenges and benefits of using self-reported or paradata-based lookup measures as well as a combined measure that aims at utilizing both to detect lookups to political knowledge questions in web surveys.

Preferences over taxation of high-income individuals: Evidence from a survey experiment

The mobility of high-income individuals across borders puts pressure on governments to lower taxes. A central tenet of the corresponding textbook argument is that mobile individuals react to tax differentials through migration and immobile individuals vote for lower taxes. We investigate to which extent this argument is complete. In particular, political ideology may influence voting on taxes. We vary mobility and foreign taxes in a survey experiment within the German Internet Panel (GIP), with more than 3000 individuals participating. We find that while the treatment effects qualitatively confirm model predictions of how voters take the mobility of high-income earners into account when choosing domestic taxes, ideology matters: left-leaning high-income individuals choose higher taxes and emigrate less frequently than right-leaning ones. These findings are in line with the comparative-static predictions of a simple model of inequality aversion when the aversion parameters vary with ideology.

Equipping the Offline Population with Internet Access in an Online Panel: Does It Make a Difference?

Abstract Online panel surveys are often criticized for their inability to cover the offline population, potentially resulting in coverage error. Previous research has demonstrated that non-internet users in fact differ from online individuals on several sociodemographic characteristics. In attempts to reduce coverage error due to missing the offline population, several probability-based online panels equip offline households with an internet connection and a simple computer or tablet. However, the question remains whether the recruitment of offline individuals for an online panel leads to substantial changes in survey estimates. That is, it is unclear whether estimates derived from the survey data are affected by the differences between the groups of online and offline individuals. Against this background, we investigate how the inclusion of the previously offline population into the German Internet Panel affects various survey estimates such as voting behavior and social engagement. Overall, we find little evidence for the claim that equipping otherwise offline individuals with online access affects the estimates derived from previously online individuals only.

Welfare state support during the COVID-19 pandemic: Change and continuity in public attitudes towards social policies in Germany.

Our analysis asks whether the pandemic situation affects welfare state support in Germany. The pandemic has increased the health and income risks calling for welfare state intervention. While increased needs, more deservingness, and higher state responsibility during such a crisis would suggest augmented support generally and among those at risk, this might be a short‐term effect and cost considerations could reverse this trend. We study public attitudes towards four key social policy areas based on the German Internet Panel (GIP). We use three waves prior and further three waves since the pandemic had been declared in March 2020. The analysis shows both continuity in the popularity of social policies, in particular health and pensions, and some short‐term increase in support for unemployment and family policies. The results after nearly 2 years suggest rather continuation with some thermostatic short‐term boosts in support instead of any long‐lasting change.

Differences in measurement quality depending on recall: results for a question about trust in the parliament

A large body of studies estimate the measurement quality of survey questions using multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) experiments. In these experiments, respondents are asked (nearly) identical questions at least twice. Most commonly, this is done within the same survey by, for instance, changing the response scale characteristics. However, it has frequently been argued that the estimates from these experiments might be biased when respondents recall their first answer and base their second answer on the initial one. So far, only little is known about the impact of memory effects on the estimates of measurement quality. In this study, we conducted a MTMM experiment in the probability-based German Internet Panel (N = 4,401) to investigate whether and to what extent measurement quality estimates differ across respondent groups varying in terms of recall. For this purpose, we use a survey question on trust in the German parliament that was asked with three different response scales. The results reveal that the recall of answers and memory effects vary significantly depending on the scales used for the trust in the parliament question. We also found significant differences in measurement quality across different recall groups. However, more refined research is necessary to better understand the association between answer recall and measurement quality estimates.

The Early Bird Catches the Worm! Setting a Deadline for Online Panel Recruitment Incentives

The literature on the effects of incentives in survey research is vast and covers a diversity of survey modes. The mode of probability-based online panels, however, is still young and so is research into how to best recruit sample units into the panel. This paper sheds light on the effectiveness of a specific type of incentive in this context: a monetary incentive that is paid conditionally upon panel registration within two weeks of receiving the initial postal mail invitation. We tested early bird cash incentives in a large-scale recruitment experiment for the German Internet Panel (GIP) in 2018. We find that panel response rates are significantly higher when offering early bird cash incentives and that fieldwork progresses considerably faster, leading to fewer reminders and greater cost-effectiveness. Furthermore, sample representativeness is similarly high with or without early bird incentives.

Selective Exposure Reduces Voluntary Contributions: Experimental Evidence from the German Internet Panel

Selective Exposure Reduces Voluntary Contributions: Experimental Evidence from the German Internet Panel

Preferences Over Taxation of High-Income Individuals: Evidence from a Survey Experiment

Mobility of high income individuals across borders puts pressure on governments to lower taxes. A central tenet of the underlying theoretical and empirical models is that mobile individuals react to tax differentials through migration, and in turn immobile households vote for lower taxes in the face of a migration threat. In light of behavioural economics research it is not clear, however, whether this premise holds. In particular, political ideology might influence voting on taxes. We use an experimental survey design and elicit answers from more than 3,000 households in the German Internet Panel (GIP).We use various treatments to understand the role of mobility and ideology in tax choice. We observe substantial deviations from the predicted theoretical equilibrium. In many cases comparative static results prevail, however. Furthermore, political ideology matters: left-leaning households choose higher taxes than right-leaning persons, and center-right leaning individuals tend to emigrate more when the tax at home is high.

General-purpose imputation of planned missing data in social surveys: Different strategies and their effect on correlations

Planned missing survey data, for example stemming from split questionnaire designs are becoming increasingly common in survey research, making imputation indispensable to obtain reasonably analyzable data. However, these data can be difficult to impute due to low correlations, many predictors, and limited sample sizes to support imputation models. This paper presents findings from a Monte Carlo simulation, in which we investigate the accuracy of correlations after multiple imputation using different imputation methods and predictor set specifications based on data from the German Internet Panel (GIP). The results show that strategies that simplify the imputation exercise (such as predictive mean matching with dimensionality reduction or restricted predictor sets, linear regression models, or the multivariate normal model without transformation) perform well, while especially generalized linear models for categorical data, classification trees, and imputation models with many predictor variables lead to strong biases.

Towards a new working time paradigm? Public support for trade union demands for working time reduction

Recent societal developments such as the significant increase in female employment or digitalization challenge existing working time regimes. As part of its 2017/18 collective bargaining position, the IG Metall demanded a right to reduce working hours with partial wage compensation by the employer. Using data from the German Internet Panel we address the question of which groups among the working population support this demand. Our analysis proves the existence of traditional conflict lines: union members are in favour of the demand, while high earners and self-employed reject it. However, based on theoretical assumptions on value change, we argue that a second conflict line between libertarian and conservative values is important. Results show that support for this demand is influenced by individual preferences for a better work-life balance, especially high among young people and supporters of the Green party. This is an example of the union’s attempts to broaden its member base. Additionally, our analysis can contribute to the discussion of reduced working hours in the context of the Corona pandemic imposed short-time work.

Are respondents ready for audio and voice communication channels in online surveys?

ABSTRACT Technological advancements and changes in online survey participation pave the way for new data collection methods. Particularly, the increasing smartphone rate in online surveys facilitates a re-consideration of prevailing communication channels to, for instance, naturalize the communication process between researchers and respondents and to collect more in-depth and high-quality data. However, so far, there is a lack of information on whether respondents are willing to undergo a change in communication channels. In this study, I therefore investigate respondents’ willingness to participate in online surveys with a smartphone to have the survey questions read out loud (audio channel) and to give oral answers via voice input (voice channel). For this purpose, I employed two willingness questions – one on audio and one on voice channels – in the probability-based German Internet Panel (N = 4,426). The results reveal that a substantial minority of respondents is willing to participate in online surveys with a smartphone to have the survey questions read out loud and to give oral answers via voice input. They also show that the device used for survey participation and personality traits, such as conscientiousness and extraversion, play a role when it comes to respondents’ willingness.

The legitimacy‐conferring capacity of constitutional courts: Evidence from a comparative survey experiment1

AbstractCan constitutional court decisions shape public opinion on a governmental policy? Previous studies have focused on the US Supreme Court, which enjoys a high degree of public support as the major resource of power for courts. In this study, we examine the extent to which courts can influence public opinion regarding a government bill at European courts. First, we argue that the public support for courts also allows them to move public opinion on policies into the direction of their decisions. This works in both directions: they can confer legitimacy to a policy that they support, but they can also de‐legitimize a policy that they oppose. Second, we argue that this mechanism strongly depends on the amount of support that a court receives. It only has an effect for courts that possess a higher institutional legitimacy and among the group of citizens trusting a court.We test our arguments by combining a most different systems design for France and Germany with a survey priming experiment on a school security bill. France and Germany are selected for a most different systems design as they exhibit different institutional designs as well as different levels of support for the court at the aggregate level. The survey experiment is implemented within large national election surveys, the German Internet Panel and the French National Election Study. Both experiments contain more than 2,600 respondents each. Our survey experiment primes for decision outcomes and different institutions to understand whether there are differences between an institution supporting and opposing a policy and between a court and alternative institutions.Our findings confirm that with higher public support, courts can move the opinion of citizens to both legitimize and de‐legitimize a policy. This effect can be found at the aggregate level for a court enjoying higher public support, but also at the individual level for respondents with higher trust in the court. Interestingly, courts can even move the opinion of citizens with strong prior attitudes in the opposite direction, if these citizens highly trust the court.These findings have implications beyond the study itself. First, they confirm that the legitimacy‐conferring effect can also be observed for European courts, not only for the US Supreme Court. Second, they show that the relevance of a mechanism identified for a single case, like the US Supreme Court, might only hold for specific conditions. As public support for courts strongly varies across countries in Europe, we also expect the impact of any mechanism relying on public support to strongly vary, as we can observe in our own analysis.

From German Internet Panel to Mannheim Corona Study: Adaptable probability-based online panel infrastructures during the pandemic

Abstract The outbreak of COVID-19 has sparked a sudden demand for fast, frequent and accurate data on the societal impact of the pandemic. This demand has highlighted a divide in survey data collection: Most probability-based social surveys, which can deliver the necessary data quality to allow valid inference to the general population, are slow, infrequent and ill-equipped to survey people during a lockdown. Most non-probability online surveys, which can deliver large amounts of data fast, frequently and without interviewer contact, however, cannot provide the data quality needed for population inference. Well aware of this chasm in the data landscape, at the onset of the pandemic, we set up the Mannheim Corona Study (MCS), a rotating panel survey with daily data collection on the basis of the long-standing probability-based online panel infrastructure of the German Internet Panel (GIP). The MCS has provided academics and political decision makers with key information to understand the social and economic developments during the early phase of the pandemic. This paper describes the panel adaptation process, demonstrates the power of the MCS data on its own and when linked to other data sources, and evaluates the data quality achieved by the MCS fast-response methodology.

Recruiting a Probability-Based Online Panel via Postal Mail: Experimental Evidence

Once recruited, probability-based online panels have proven to enable high-quality and high-frequency data collection. In ever faster-paced societies and, recently, in times of pandemic lockdowns, such online survey infrastructures are invaluable to social research. In absence of email sampling frames, one way of recruiting such a panel is via postal mail. However, few studies have examined how to best approach and then transition sample members from the initial postal mail contact to the online panel registration. To fill this gap, we implemented a large-scale experiment in the recruitment of the 2018 sample of the German Internet Panel (GIP) varying panel recruitment designs in four experimental conditions: online-only, concurrent mode, online-first, and paper-first. Our results show that the online-only design delivers higher online panel registration rates than the other recruitment designs. In addition, all experimental conditions led to similarly representative samples on key socio-demographic characteristics.

The Long-Term Impact of Different Offline Population Inclusion Strategies in Probability-Based Online Panels: Evidence From the German Internet Panel and the GESIS Panel

While online panels offer numerous advantages, they are often criticized for excluding the offline population. Therefore, some probability-based online panels have developed offline population inclusion strategies. Two dominant approaches prevail: providing internet equipment and offering an alternative survey participation mode. We investigate the impact of these approaches on two probability-based online panels in Germany: the German Internet Panel, which provides members of the offline population with internet equipment, and the GESIS Panel, which offers members of the offline population to participate via postal mail surveys. In addition, we explore the impact of offering an alternative mode only to non-internet users versus also offering the alternative mode to internet users who are unwilling to provide survey data online. Albeit lower recruitment and/or panel wave participation probabilities among offliners than onliners, we find that including the offline population has a positive long-term impact on sample accuracy in both panels. In the GESIS Panel, the positive impact is particularly strong when offering the alternative participation mode to non-internet users and internet users who are unwilling to provide survey data online.

Comparing the participation of Millennials and older age cohorts in the CROss-National Online Survey panel and the German Internet Panel

Millennials (1982-2003) witnessed a set of events during their lives that differentiated them from older age cohorts (Generation X, Boomers, and Silents). Thus, one can also expect that Millennials’ web survey participation differs from that of older cohorts. The goal of this study is to compare Millennials to older cohorts on different aspects related to web survey participation: participation rates, break-off rates, smartphone participation, survey evaluation, and data quality. We use data from two online probability-based panels covering four countries: the CROss-National Online Survey (CRONOS) panel in Estonia, Slovenia, and the UK, and the German Internet Panel (GIP). We find significantly lower participation rate for Millennials than for older cohorts and higher break-off rate for Millennials than for older cohorts in three countries. Smartphone participation is significantly higher for Millennials than for Generation X and Boomers in three countries. Comparing Millennials and Silents, we find that Millennials smartphone participation is significantly higher in two countries. There are almost no differences in survey evaluation and data quality across age cohorts in the descriptive analyses, but some age cohort effects in regression analyses. These results suggest that it is necessary to develop new strategies to encourage Millennials’ participation in online surveys.

High-Frequency and High-Quality Survey Data Collection: The Mannheim Corona Study

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has a massive impact on society. To curb the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, unprecedented containment measures are being taken by governments around the world. These measures and the fear of the disease itself are likely affecting the economy, social inequality, mental and physical health, and even people’s perception of good democratic governance. Equally unprecedented is the speed at which these massive changes take place and the lack of statistical evidence that accompanies them. Within days of the first containment measures in Germany, the German Internet Panel (GIP) launched the Mannheim Corona Study (MCS), a daily rotating panel study of the general adult population of approximately 3,600 respondents. Its data and reports now inform the crisis cabinet of the German government and are the basis for groundbreaking social and economic research. This paper gives insights into the MCS methodology and data quality.

Everything to everyone and the conditioning effect of intraparty cohesion: A replication in a cross-national context

Taking the intraparty politics perspective, Lehrer and Lin recently revisit Somer-Topcu’s work that demonstrates how being ambiguous can help parties expand support in elections. Using survey data from the German Internet Panel, Lehrer and Lin find that intraparty cohesion is a critical moderator of Somer-Topcu’s argument. While Lehrer and Lin’s results are of relevance to a wide literature on party competition, intraparty politics, and political representation, their empirical strategy of relying on only one country prohibits other researchers from drawing meaningful and generalizable conclusions. In this note, we join this literature and reevaluate Lehrer and Lin’s conjecture by using an innovative cross-national survey data that covers 12 European countries. With this comparative data set, we almost perfectly replicate what Somer-Topcu and Lehrer and Lin reveal in their works. Our empirical endeavor not only provides a solid empirical ground to Lehrer and Lin in a cross-national context but also has important implications for future research, particularly on electoral politics, party competition, and democratic representation.

Preferences Over Taxation of High-Income Individuals: Evidence from a Survey Experiment

Mobility of high-income individuals across borders puts pressure on governments to lower taxes. A central tenet of the corresponding textbook argument is that mobile individuals react to tax differentials through migration, and in turn immobile individuals vote for lower taxes. We investigate to which extent this argument is complete. In particular, political ideology may influence voting on taxes. We vary mobility and foreign taxes in a survey experiment within the German Internet Panel (GIP), with more than 3,000 individuals participating. We find that while the treatment effects qualitatively confirm model predictions how voters take mobility of high-income earners into account when choosing domestic taxes, ideology matters: left-leaning high-income individuals choose higher taxes and emigrate less frequently than right-leaning ones. These findings are in line with the comparative-static predictions of a simple model of inequality aversion when the aversion parameters vary with ideology.