The text introduces basic concepts of cohort analysis – age, period and birth cohorts. The author shows the role of birth cohorts in explanation of social processes and deals with a cohort replacement as a matter of social change. From the methodology point of view the author presents the standard cohort table, introduces an identification problem and shows two ways how to solve it using the data on birth rates in the Czech Republic between 1948 and 2007. The first solution is presented for population data, the second one is presented for microdata in the form of a series of repeated cross-section sample surveys. The results of both analyses show, that identification of age, period and cohort effects is important for interpretation trends in birth rates in the Czech Republic between 1948 and 2007., Tomáš Katrňák., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
An increasing number of surveys are employed in the field of public administration. This begs the question, what is the quality of this form of research? In this article two different surveys are presented and compared. First, a client satisfaction survey implemented at twelve municipal offices is examined. Second, there is an exploration of an international comparative research project that studies municipal representatives (MAELG). An examination of the research methodologies employed in both of these two surveys reveals the problems inherent to this type of inquiry. Strategies for overcoming these obstacles in future research are described. This study argues that examination of methodological issues can lead to important substantive insights; in this case it is the link between public administration and democracy., Dan Ryšavý., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Reason analysis is a long neglected method of data collection and analysis. This article describes the method and shows some fields of practical application. The methods and principles of reason analysis were first expounded by Lazarsfeld (1935). Reason analysis explores how respondents answer “why” questions during survey interviews. Typically, respondents are asked a simple question inquiring about the reasons that led them to make a specific decision or action. Data obtained in this way are often used to construct a simple classification of respondents. In reality, respondents often have many reasons for making a particular decision, but usually only mention one to an interviewer. Reason analysis contends that responses to ‘why’ questions are a combination of some or all reasons used by the respondent to formulate an answer to an interviewers’ question. Consequently, reason analysis constructs a “tree” of questions and an “accounting scheme” or model of the decision or action being studied. Using this framework, responses are grouped into classes and types according to their (dis)similarity. With the development of software tools it is now easy to estimate reason analysis models of survey response. One key advantage of reason analysis is that it facilitates developing a deeper understanding of the latent structure of groups; and hence allows a more precise estimation of individual level effects in studies of decision-making. As the demand for “structural estimation” models of decision making and action increase, it is likely the reason analysis will become a more influential methodological approach in the 21st century., Hynek Jeřábek., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
This paper explores causal explanations that use panel data and describes the contribution of Paul Lazarsfeld to the methodology of panel analysis. The introductory part describes the concepts of ‘panel data’ and ‘panel analysis.’ The second section is devoted to the history of panel studies. The main part of the paper focuses on the contributions of Paul Lazarsfeld to panel data analysis. The term ‘panel study’ generally denotes any data collection that involves the same respondents who are questioned repeatedly in consecutive waves of a survey. In contrast, ‘panel analysis’ refers to the quantitative analysis of changes in the distributions of responses among the same respondents across two waves of a panel data set. Paul Lazarsfeld developed panel analysis during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The main aim of this early work was to test for causal relationships, and to outline some explanation for the intra-personal changes observed. Lazarsfeld outlined three important panel data analysis procedures: 1) analysis of turnover tables, 2) analysis of qualified change also known as the “analysis of qualifiers”, and 3) analysis of concurrent changes. The latter was often referred to by Lazarsfeld in his methodological papers as the problem of the “sixteen-fold table”. The final section of this paper discusses of the use of control groups in panel studies and problems associated with panel attrition rates., Hynek Jeřábek., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Tento článek zkoumá způsoby měření politických znalostí. Hlavním předpokladem většiny prací v daném oboru je myšlenka, že politické znalosti jsou charakteristikou, která náleží pouze jedinci. Výzkum, na němž je založen tento text, předpokládá, že politické znalosti jsou charakteristikou jak jedinců, tak způsobů měření těchto znalostí. Analýzy jsou založené na baterii otázek na politické znalosti, jež byla implementována v šetření ISSP Role vlády IV (2006). Tento článek demonstruje, že předpoklad jednodimenzionality politických znalostí nesmí být chápán jako daný a musí být naopak testován. Přítomnost více než jedné dimenze politických znalostí je teoreticky důležitá, neboť implikuje, že někteří občané se zajímají pouze o specifické aspekty politiky. To má významné důsledky pro naše chápání a hodnocení demokratického systému vládnutí., Pat Lyons., 7 tabulek, and Obsahuje bibliografii
This article outlines several techniques for analyzing panel data with a dichotomous dependent variable. This presentation is inspired by the classic work of Paul Allison [1999]. An example analysis is presented where public attitudes toward restitution of church property in the Czech Republic is explored using panel data. Here the focus is on exploring changes in the intra-personal agenda of respondents on this specific issue. There are three main conclusions from this research: (1) media exposure and (2) the education level of the respondent increase the odds of the church restitution issue being mentioned by a respondent as being important, and (3) mention of the church restitution issue in a particular wave of the panel survey is negatively associated with mention of this issue in later waves of the panel study examined. These findings are discussed in terms of their methodological and substantive implications., František Kalvas ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
b1_The Position Generator (PG) represents one method of measuring egocentric social networks, and key facets of social capital. Respondents are asked if they know a person from a list of jobs that have different social status. The Social Distance Survey (2007) fielded a Czech version of the PG which examined 18 jobs and investigated the strength and duration of ties, and gender of contacts. In this article, we first compare distributions obtained from the PG with the same occupations in population (egos) and from the name generator. Second, measures of social capital were computed. These include extensity, upper reachability, range and an aggregate index called ‘Access Social Capital.’ There are also estimates of lower reachability, mean and total status in a network. In addition, new measures are introduced such as (a) ‘average status combined with status range’ which reflects the “double advantage in networks”, (b) gender and strength of tie diversity, (c) relative measures of gender/ status congruence, and (d) inductive scales measuring access to high and low status professions. Validity of selected social capital measures is assessed using regression models that are operationalised with key socio-demographic variables, and indicators that measure the ethnic and educational diversity within ego networks. These models reveal that differences in the stock of social capital are primarily influenced by education, ISEI (an occupation status), and employment status. The most important relation is in between an ego’s status and a mean network ISEI score, upper reachability, and their interaction. This finding implies that these network measures best capture the concept of hierarchically ordered social resources., b2_The validity of the PG is also assessed using a correlation analysis of the effects or outputs of the social network, i.e. income, job mobility, social trust, life satisfaction, and tolerance of ethnic groups. The article concludes with a comparison with other egocentric social network techniques and recommendations for further work., Jiří Šafr., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy