House Effects and the Reproducibility of Survey Measurements: A Comparison of the 1980 GSS and the 1980 American National Election Study

Abstract

This paper examines a collaborative experiment between the General Social Survey, National Opinion Research Center, and the American National Election Study, Center for Political Studies. Identical items were asked by both surveys, thereby permitting a test of reproducibility and house effects. Significant differences were found between the houses, with the largest and most systematic differences involving item nonresponse. Various explanations for the differences are examined and a general assessment of the importance of the differences is presented.