Abstract
AbstractOpinion surveys can contain closed questions to which respondents can give multiple answers. We propose to model these data as networks in which vertices are the eligible items and arcs are the respondents. This representation opens up the possibility of using complex networks methodologies to retrieve information and most prominently, the possibility of using clustering/community detection techniques to reduce data complexity. We will take advantage of the implicit null hypothesis of the modularity function, namely, that items are chosen without any preferential pairing, to show how the hypothesis can be tested through the usual calculation of p-values. We illustrate the methodology with an application to Eurobarometer data. There, a question about national concerns can receive up to two selections. We will show that community clustering groups together concerns that can be interpreted in a consistent way and in general terms, such as Economy, or Security or Welfare issues. Moreover, we will show how different society groups are worried by different class of items.
Funder
Fundación BBVA
Università degli Studi di Trento
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
General Social Sciences,Statistics and Probability
Reference23 articles.
1. Agarwal, G., Kempe, D.: Modularity-maximizing graph communities via mathematical programming. Europ. Phys. J. B 66(3), 409–418 (2008)
2. Akkerman, A., Mudde, C., Zaslove, A.: How populist are the people? Measuring populist attitudes in voters. Comparat. Polit. Stud. 47(9), 1324–1353 (2014)
3. Benati, S., Puerto, J., Rodriguez-Chia, A.M., Temprano, F.: A mathematical programming approach to overlapping community detection. Phys. A Statist. Mech. Appl. 602, 127628 (2022)
4. Bevan, S., Jennings, W., Wlezien, C.: An analysis of the public’s personal, national and eu issue priorities. J. Europ. Publ. Policy 23(6), 871–887 (2016)
5. Brussels, K.P.: Standard eurobarometer 89, first results, public opinions in the european union. Technical report, European Commission, Directorate-General for Communication, Brussels (2018)