Certain issues of reliability and validity in the case of generalized trust survey measurement in light of the Hungarian data Cover Image

Az általánosított bizalom kérdőíves mérésének egyes megbízhatósági és érvényességi kérdései a magyarországi adatfelvételek tükrében
Certain issues of reliability and validity in the case of generalized trust survey measurement in light of the Hungarian data

Author(s): Ákos Bodor, Márk Hegedüs
Subject(s): Methodology and research technology
Published by: Debreceni Egyetem Politikatudományi és Szociológiai Intézet
Keywords: trust; generalized trust; survey methods; reliability; validity

Summary/Abstract: Trust is a field of research in social sciences that has complex, well-developed theoretical approaches, but its empirical tools are less precisely grounded. The most common survey tool for measuring generalized trust is a formula often referred to in the literature as “standard” trust question, which reads as follows: “Generally speaking, would you say that most people can be trusted or that you need to be very careful in dealing with people?” The aim of the paper is to examine this standard survey item along the dimensions of reliability and validity. In our analysis, we use Hungarian data obtained from various international surveys. Our results indicate serious validity problems, as the standard question shows only weak linkage with additional variables, which, based on the conceptual background, should be in a close relationship with trust.

  • Issue Year: 11/2022
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 5-22
  • Page Count: 18
  • Language: Hungarian
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