Research concealment affected how student political attitudes were measured

Evidence

The interviews took place in the Institute building, lasting on average two and a half hours, and were based on interview guidelines and usually free questions, so that to some extent they had the quality of conversation. The interviewees were told that the research was concerned with `study problems’. The questions about involvement in politics were positioned as unobtrusively as possible, so as to prevent the interviewees from being tempted to pretend they were interested in politics in order to make a good impression. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2334

Categorization

• QUESTION: Did concealment of research purpose bias responses, and does this connect to the earlier Weimar worker study’s obfuscation tactics?
• XREF: connects to: Students and Politics camouflaged its political questions to avoid social-desirability bias — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2334; Research scales can be framed to test hypotheses about ideology — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1001; Measuring authoritarianism as attitudes allows disguising personality tests as opinion surveys. — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 3863

Broader Connections

• Students and Politics camouflaged its political questions to avoid social-desirability bias #exemplifies (0.92) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2334
• Measuring authoritarianism as attitudes allows disguising personality tests as opinion surveys. #corroborates (0.85) — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 3863
• Research scales can be framed to test hypotheses about ideology #expands (0.72) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1001