Selection Bias in Comparative Research. The Case of Incomplete Datasets
Journal
Political Analysis
ISSN
1047-1987
ISSN-Digital
1476-4989
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2003
Author(s)
Hug, Simon
Abstract (De)
Selection bias is an important but often neglected problem in comparative research. While comparative case studies pay some attention to this problem, this is less the case in broader cross?national studies, where this problem may appear through the way the data used are generated. The article discusses three examples: studies of the success of newly formed political parties, research on protest events, and recent work on ethnic conflict. In all cases the data at hand are likely to be afflicted by selection bias. Failing to take into consideration this problem leads to serious biases in the estimation of simple relationships. Empirical examples illustrate a possible solution (a variation of a Tobit model) to the problems in these cases. The article also discusses results of Monte Carlo simulations, illustrating under what conditions the proposed estimation procedures lead to improved results.
Language
German
HSG Classification
not classified
Refereed
No
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Publisher place
Oxford
Volume
11
Number
3
Start page
225
End page
274
Pages
50
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
13101