The Past, Present and Future of Factorial Survey Experiments: A Review for the Social Sciences

Factorial survey experiments (FSEs) are increasingly used in the social sciences. This pa­per provides a review about the use of FSEs and aims to answer three research questions. (1) How has this specific research field developed over time? (2) Which methodological advances have been made in FSE research and to what degree are they applied in empiri­cal studies? (3) Which questions remain unresolved and should be addressed in future re­search? Using the Web of Science and Scopus databases, we conducted a literature review of FSEs published between 1982 and 2018. Our findings show that the field is develop­ing quickly and that FSEs are becoming increasingly accepted in different research areas. Thereby, FSEs are being widely used not only to study attitudes, but also to explore the determinants of behaviour. Most research applies state-of-the-art techniques in terms of statistical analysis; however, to a lesser extent, studies rely on more sophisticated sampling procedures to draw samples from a large vignette universe. Finally, several methodological questions remain unresolved concerning the realism and complexity of vignettes, social desirability, and the predictive validity of FSEs regarding behaviour due to their hypotheti­cal nature. Against this background, we call for more methodological research to assess the general applicability of FSEs for different research areas. Further, our review suggests the need for better documentation and reporting standards to evaluate methodological aspects of FSEs

Münchener Studie zur Lebenszufriedenheit

In der vorliegenden Studie werden Bestimmungsfaktoren von Lebenszufriedenheit untersucht. Miteigens in München erhobenen Daten werden neben der deskriptiven Darstellung der gegenwärtigen Lebenszufriedenheit der Münchener Bevölkerung die Wirkungen körperlicher, sozialer sowie materieller Einflussfaktoren auf das persönliche Wohlbefinden analysiert. Es zeigt sich, dass trotz des subjektiven Charakters von empfundenem Glück die Lebenszufriedenheit der Münchener Bevölkerung zu rund 20 % mit Hilfe genereller Einflussfaktoren erklärt werden kann. Neben dem Lebensalter besitzen dabei insbesondere soziale Einflussfaktoren eine hohe Relevanz

Studentischer Workload: Zum Verhältnis von Konzeption und Praxis

Mit der Bologna-Reform wurde die am Arbeitsaufwand orientierte Konzeption, Planung und Verwaltung von Lehrveranstaltungen auf Basis von ECTS-Punkten eingeführt, um eine bessere Vergleichbarkeit von Studienleistungen herzustellen und die Studierbarkeit zu sichern. Aber auch 20 Jahre nach Bologna sind zahlreiche konzeptionelle, theoretische und methodische Fragen und Probleme offen. In der Praxis stellt der Workload im Gegensatz zur ursprünglichen Konzeption primär eine administrative Planungsgröße dar, wobei jedoch scheinbar nur eine lose Kopplung zwischen vergebenen ECTS-Punkten und dem dafür erforderlichen Workload besteht. Insbesondere hat die Workload-Konzeption nicht, wie intendiert, zu einer stärkeren Orientierung an den Lernenden beigetragen. Im Gegenteil besteht die Gefahr, dass die Diversität der Studierendenschaft durch den Fokus auf den durchschnittlichen Workload, aber auch mangels geeigneter Datenquellen aus dem Blick gerät. Über die praktischen Folgerungen hinaus bleibt eine stärkere forschungsbasierte Auseinandersetzung mit den Determinanten des studentischen Workloads anzuregen, um die mitunter erheblichen Workloadunterschiede vor dem Hintergrund der vielfältigen studentischen Lebenswelten besser verstehen zu können. The Bologna reform introduced the workload-oriented design, planning and administration of courses, based on ECTS credits, in order to improve comparability of academic performance and study conditions. But even 20 years after Bologna, many conceptual, theoretical and methodological questions and problems remain unresolved. In contrast to the original idea, student workload has primarily become an administrative planning parameter in practice, however with a rather loose coupling of awarded ECTS points and required workload. Furthermore, the workload concept has not, as intended, strengthened the learning orientation of university teaching. On the contrary, there is a risk that the diversity of the students will be lost out of sight due to the focus on the average workload, but also due to the lack of suitable data sources. Beyond these practical concerns, we want to encourage a stronger research-based examination of the determinants of student workload in order to better understand the sometimes considerable differences in workload against the background of the diverse student worlds

Disorder, Social Capital, and Norm Violation: Three Field Experiments on the Broken Windows Thesis

Adding to the debate about the “broken windows” thesis we discuss an explanation of minor norm violation based on the assumption that individuals infer expected sanctioning probabilities from contextual cues. We modify the classical framework of rational crime by signals of disorder, local social control, and their interaction. Testing our implications we present results from three field experiments showing that violations of norms, which prevent physical as well as social disorder, foster further violations of the same and of different norms. Varying the net gains from deviance it shows that disorder effects are limited to low cost situations. Moreover, we provide suggestive evidence that disorder effects are significantly stronger in neighborhoods with high social capital

Disorder, Social Capital, and Norm Violation: Three Field Experiments on the Broken Windows Thesis

Adding to the debate about the “broken windows” thesis we discuss an explanation of minor norm violation based on the assumption that individuals infer expected sanctioning probabilities from contextual cues. We modify the classical framework of rational crime by signals of disorder, local social control, and their interaction. Testing our implications we present results from three field experiments showing that violations of norms, which prevent physical as well as social disorder, foster further violations of the same and of different norms. Varying the net gains from deviance it shows that disorder effects are limited to low cost situations. Moreover, we provide suggestive evidence that disorder effects are significantly stronger in neighborhoods with high social capital

“Walk Left, Stand Right!” A Field Experiment on the Enforcement of Informal Norms on Escalators

Empirische Untersuchungen zur Durchsetzung sozialer Normen im Alltag sind bisher rar. Die auf Münchner Rolltreppen geltende Norm „Links gehen, rechts stehen!“ bietet eine günstige Gelegenheit entsprechende Prozesse zu untersuchen. In einem Feldexperiment wurden Passanten beim Begehen der Rolltreppen bewusst behindert, um ihre Reaktion (Sanktionswahrscheinlichkeit, -stärke und -eintrittsdauer) zu beobachten. Dabei wurden Geschlecht und Kleidung der Normverletzenden systematisch variiert, um Effekte des sozialen Status auf die Normdurchsetzung zu erfassen. Im Ergebnis zeigt sich, dass beide Faktoren Einfluss haben: Elegante Kleidung reduziert die Sanktionswahrscheinlichkeit und -stärke und verzögert den Eintritt von Sanktionen; Frauen werden schneller sowie verbal häufiger und energischer sanktioniert, während Männer deutlichere physische Aufforderungen zu normkonformem Verhalten erhalten.Empirical research on the enforcement of norms in everyday life is rare. The norm “Walk left, stand right!” on escalators in Munich’s public transportation system offers a fortunate opportunity to study processes of norm enforcement. In a field experiment we restrained subjects from walking on the left side of the escalator and observed their reaction to this blockade (probability of sanctions, strength of sanctions, and length of time until a sanction occurs). Furthermore, we varied the clothing and gender of the persons blocking the escalator. Both treatments represent a dimension of social status, and both prove to be influential: An elegant outfit reduces the frequency and strength of sanctions and increases the delay before a sanction takes place; women are sanctioned within shorter time, verbally more frequently, and more strenuously, while men provoke more pronounced physical reactions