Kasper M. Hansen
Department of Political Science
University of Copenhagen
Research project: Opinion Formation in an Experimental Perspective
Principal investigator Kasper M. Hansen, Funded by the Danish
Research Council
How does information and arguments shape the Danes’ political opinions?
Through opinion surveys the project assesses the stability of the citizens’ political opinion and how information and arguments influence the opinions expressed in the surveys. The project use split-sample surveys combined with survey experiments and discrete choice experiments on a representative national sample of Danish citizens (n=2,000). The issues include public services such as schools and opinion toward European Union and political ideology.
From the project a number of publications are available e.g.:
- Hansen, Kasper M. & Mickael Bech (2009, under review) Using Discrete Choice Experiment to Estimate Political Preferences.
- Hansen, Kasper M. (2007) “The Sophisticated Public: The Effect of Competing Frames on public opinion”. Scandinavian Political Studies. Vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 377-396.
- Hansen, Kasper M. (2007) ”The effects of incentives, interview length, and interviewer characteristics on response rates in a CATI-study”. International Journal Public Opinion Research. Vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 112-121.
Research project: OPEC - Online Panel of Electoral Campaigning
Principal investigator Kasper M. Hansen, Funded by the Danish Research
Council
What kind of effect do the political campaigns have on the voters?
From 2001 to 2005 the Danish political parties’ political campaign spending increased with more than 30 % to around 100 millions DKR. The political campaigns exploit more and more resources, but the knowledge of their effect are very limited. Basically we have no idea whether the public and private money given to the parties and spend on campaign have any effect.
Through a large online panel of the voters (n=10,000) the movement during the campaign will be monitored. The survey will include split-sample experiment. Theoretically the project will develop the dominating American models of campaign effect to a multiparty system where political campaign on e.g. TV is forbidden.
From the project a number of publications are available e.g.:
- Hansen, Kasper M. (2008) "Hvordan påvirker valgkampen vælgerne?" pp. 149-162 in Kosiara-Pedersen, K. & Kurrild-Klitgaard, P. (eds.) Partier og partisystemer i forandring: Festskrift til Lars Bille. Odense: Syddansk Universitetsforlag.