Race of interviewer effects in telephone surveys preceding the 2008 U.S. presidential election

• Main Authors: Kim, Nuri, Krosnick, Jon A., Lelkes, Yphtach
• Other Authors: Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: Social sciences::Communication; Race of Interviewer; 2008 Presidential Election
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/146321
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Race of interviewer effects are presumed to occur in surveys because respondents answer questions differently depending on interviewer race. This article explored an alternative explanation: differential respondent recruitment. Data from telephone interviews conducted during the 2008 U.S. Presidential election campaign by major survey organizations (ABC News/Washington Post, CBS News/New York Times, and Gallup) indicate that African-American interviewers were more likely to elicit statements of the intent to vote for Barack Obama than White interviewers. But this effect occurred because African-American interviewers were more likely than White interviewers to elicit survey participation by African-American respondents, and/or White interviewers were more likely to elicit participation by White respondents. Thus, differences between interviewers in terms of responses obtained are not necessarily because of respondent lying.