El. Bernick et al., TESTING THE RACE-OF-INSTITUTION EFFECT ON MISREPORTING ELECTORAL-BEHAVIOR - A RESEARCH NOTE, Sociological spectrum, 16(3), 1996, pp. 329-338
This research note reports on an attempt to gain a greater understandi
ng of voter misreporting. Is there a race-of-institution effect presen
t in mail surveys that contributes to misreporting similar to the race
-of-interviewer effect present in other survey techniques? To examine
this research question a survey was developed. The research consisted
of selecting two institutions (universities) within a southern U.S. ci
ty, one recognized as a ''traditionally Black'' institution and one as
''traditionally White.'' Equal systematic random samples of Black and
White registered voters were selected from similar socioeconomic area
s. The research provides evidence that voter misreporting may be becau
se of response bias. Indeed, for both Black and White respondents, a r
ace-of-institution effect exists. Differences in electoral contexts pr
oduce variations in the race-of-institution effect and, therefore, var
iations in misreporting.