Research Question : Do political advertisements influence who you vote for?
Independent and Dependent Variables : This study seeks to analyze whether political advertisements have any effect on the person that voters vote for in an election. In this case, the political advertisement is the independent variable while the voters are the dependent variables.
Hypothesis : The ubiquity of political advertisements is an indication that they must be very critical when it comes to influencing voters’ behaviour. The functional theory of the political advertisements debate suggests that voters usually base their vote choices on the character (image) and policy (issues). That said, I propose the following hypotheses for my research study:
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Hypothesis One : Political advertisements play a crucial role in informing the voters in the stand of the candidates on the issues at hand.
Hypothesis Two : Political advertisements affect the perception that voters had of a candidate’s character (for example morality, compassion, honesty, and personality).
Hypothesis Three: Political advertisements affect the interest that the voters had in the campaign process.
Hypothesis Four : Political advertisements influence the voters’ candidate preference.
Details about the Type of Survey
In this case, I wish to gather information on the public opinion regarding the effect that political advertisement has on the voters’ choice of candidate. Therefore, a random sample – public opinion type of survey is most applicable in this case. There is a need for reliable, projectable information regarding the attitudes of citizens to the research question, and this necessitates a valid survey on a random sample. Telephone interview surveys tend to be more common compared to in-person interviews because it is cheaper to conduct and is widely accepted as a reliable information-gathering avenue. A margin of error is allowed based on the size of the sample used. A minimum sample of 200 respondents is required to make the collected data reliable. Overall, telephone interview surveys conducted on random samples provide information that is reasonably accurate regarding the population behaviour.
Once I had decided the type of survey that I would use to conduct this research study, the next step was to create a questionnaire that I would use. The process of creating a questionnaire requires an understanding of the hypothesis, which we have already stated. Next, it is important to understand your target population, and in this case, I am targeting random individuals who have already registered as voters. Here are the 10 questions that I will be asking my respondents in the order in which I will ask them.
Questionnaire
Have you ever participated in a political election before?
…………………………………………………………………………
If your answer in one is yes, what influenced you to vote for the candidates that you chose? (choose one of the answers provided)
I knew them personally
I had learned about them through political advertisements
I just guessed my option while at the ballot box
How important do you think political advertisements are in influencing the choice of a voter?
Very important
Not important
Do you think political advertisements play an important role in bringing out the character of the candidates?
Yes
No
Have you ever voted for a candidate that you did not know about initially just because you saw them in a political advertisement?
Yes
No
If yes, what made you vote for them?
I was impressed by their stand on particular issues that affect me.
Their advertisements were very influential
I was impressed by the candidate's character (e.g., honesty, personality, morality, and compassion)
All of the above
Other (Please specify)………………………….
Do you think that political advertisements give the true image of the candidates?
Yes
No
Would you rather vote for a candidate that you know personally or a candidate who you don’t know but they have a moving advertisement strategy?
The candidate that I know personally
A candidate with a moving advertisement strategy
In this case, we have a political need, and it is wise to create a survey process that will allow any interested party to respond through a self-selected process. The written questionnaire will be distributed in public areas such as Libraries or the City Hall, published in the local newspaper, or city newsletter, or emailed directly to the respondents. A self-selected survey is an excellent tool for obtaining information from the public. However, for this study, I will conduct the survey through face-to-face and telephone means due to the limitations of time. I will administer the survey to my family, friends and fellow students.
Results
I managed to obtain 30 respondents for my survey. I have presented my findings in the table below:
| Question | Results |
| Have you ever participated in a political election before? |
Yes – 28 No – 2 |
| What influenced you to vote for the candidates that you chose? |
Knowing them personally - 15 I had learned about them through political advertisements – 10 I just guessed my option while at the ballot box – 3 |
| How important do you think political advertisements are in influencing the choice of a voter? |
Very important – 21 Not important – 9 |
| Do you think political advertisements play an important role in bringing out the character of the candidates? |
Yes – 28 No – 2 |
| Have you ever voted for a candidate that you did not know about initially just because you saw them in a political advertisement? |
Yes – 20 No – 8 |
| What made you vote for them? |
I was impressed by their stand on particular issues that affect me - 18 Their advertisements were very influential - 6 I was impressed by the candidate's character (e.g., honesty, personality, morality, and compassion) - 5 All of the above – 2 |
| Do you think that political advertisements give the true image of the candidates? |
Yes – 20 No – 10 |
| Would you rather vote for a candidate that you know personally or a candidate who you don’t know but they have a moving advertisement strategy? |
The candidate that I know personally - 5 A candidate with a moving advertisement strategy – 25 |
Discuss your results
From the results, it is evident that personal knowledge of the candidate is the main influencer of the voter’s choice in a political election. However, political advertisements still do play a major role in the candidate that voters choose. Out of the 30 respondents, 21 confirmed the importance of political advertisements in influencing the choice of a voter. According to the respondents, the main reason why voters are attracted or opposed to a candidate is that of the character displayed through the political advertisements. From the results, I could see that voters are willing to vote for a candidate that they do not know personally as long as they have an impressive stand on various issues. The character of the candidate in the advertisement also greatly influences the choice of the candidate. By the end of the survey, most of the respondents had already shifted from preferring personal knowledge of a candidate to opting for a candidate with an impressive advertisement strategy.
The results confirmed all the four hypotheses that I had proposed: Political advertisements play a crucial role in informing the voters in the stand of the candidates on the issues at hand; Political advertisements affect the perception that voters had of a candidate’s character (for example morality, compassion, honesty, and personality); Political advertisements affect the interest that the voters had in the campaign process; Political advertisements influence the voters’ candidate preference.
Conclusion
Without a doubt, political advertisements do influence the candidate that you vote for. Especially in situations where the voter does not have any personal knowledge of the candidates, it is the political advertisements that sell them. Political advertisements are critical avenues through which voters get to know the stand of various candidates on issues affecting them. Also, the character and moral values of candidates are well depicted through political advertisements. For this reason, political advertisements are very crucial in influencing the decision of the voters regarding their choice of a candidate. While the advertisements might not always give a true representation of a candidate, a consistent follow-up of all advertisements will reveal a pattern in their character and beliefs. For this reason, voters who rely on political advertisements to learn about their candidates ought to be very keen to notice the patterns.
References
A Questionnaire Example - Research Subjective Experience. (2018). Retrieved from https://explorable.com/questionnaire-example
Bhat, A. (2018). Types of Survey with Examples | QuestionPro. Retrieved from https://www.questionpro.com/blog/types-of-survey/
Lee, S., & Moon, W. (2016). The Effect of Political Advertising on Voter: A Meta-Analytic Assessment. The Korean Journal Of Advertising And Public Relations , 18 (2), 182. doi: 10.16914/kjapr.2016.18.2.182
