Who are our experts? Predictors of participation in expert surveys

Who are the colleagues participating when asked to complete expert surveys? This research note investigates which individuals’ characteristics associate with positive responses. Drawing on an expert survey dedicated to post-conflict trials, we collect data on various attributes of both respondents a...

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Main Authors: Steinert, C, Ruggeri, A
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: De Gruyter 2020
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author Steinert, C
Ruggeri, A
author_facet Steinert, C
Ruggeri, A
author_sort Steinert, C
collection OXFORD
description Who are the colleagues participating when asked to complete expert surveys? This research note investigates which individuals’ characteristics associate with positive responses. Drawing on an expert survey dedicated to post-conflict trials, we collect data on various attributes of both respondents and non-respondents such as their age, sex, academic positions, disciplines, and research outputs. We expect that decisions to participate result from an interplay of (1) individuals’ levels of context-specific expertise, (2) the value attached to their expert role, (3) their confidence in making authoritative statements, and (4) resource constraints. Employing logistic regression models and statistical simulations (n = 414), we find that context-specific expertise is the primary, but not the only determinant of participation. On the one hand and luckily, individuals whose research corresponds closely to the object of study are most likely to participate. On the other hand and unfortunately, individuals with high citation outputs, female experts, and Area Studies-scholars are less likely to respond. Consequently, certain groups are under-represented in expert evaluations frequently considered as authoritative source of knowledge.
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spelling oxford-uuid:2aca21d4-f218-4660-b67b-1c969796a2082022-03-26T12:27:08ZWho are our experts? Predictors of participation in expert surveysJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:2aca21d4-f218-4660-b67b-1c969796a208EnglishSymplectic ElementsDe Gruyter2020Steinert, CRuggeri, AWho are the colleagues participating when asked to complete expert surveys? This research note investigates which individuals’ characteristics associate with positive responses. Drawing on an expert survey dedicated to post-conflict trials, we collect data on various attributes of both respondents and non-respondents such as their age, sex, academic positions, disciplines, and research outputs. We expect that decisions to participate result from an interplay of (1) individuals’ levels of context-specific expertise, (2) the value attached to their expert role, (3) their confidence in making authoritative statements, and (4) resource constraints. Employing logistic regression models and statistical simulations (n = 414), we find that context-specific expertise is the primary, but not the only determinant of participation. On the one hand and luckily, individuals whose research corresponds closely to the object of study are most likely to participate. On the other hand and unfortunately, individuals with high citation outputs, female experts, and Area Studies-scholars are less likely to respond. Consequently, certain groups are under-represented in expert evaluations frequently considered as authoritative source of knowledge.
spellingShingle Steinert, C
Ruggeri, A
Who are our experts? Predictors of participation in expert surveys
title Who are our experts? Predictors of participation in expert surveys
title_full Who are our experts? Predictors of participation in expert surveys
title_fullStr Who are our experts? Predictors of participation in expert surveys
title_full_unstemmed Who are our experts? Predictors of participation in expert surveys
title_short Who are our experts? Predictors of participation in expert surveys
title_sort who are our experts predictors of participation in expert surveys
work_keys_str_mv AT steinertc whoareourexpertspredictorsofparticipationinexpertsurveys
AT ruggeria whoareourexpertspredictorsofparticipationinexpertsurveys