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Survey Research In The Arab World: Challenges And Opportunities, Lindsay J. Benstead

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Survey research has steadily expanded in the Arab world since the 1980s. The Arab spring marked a watershed when surveying became possible in Tunisia and Libya, and questionnaires included previously censured questions. Almost every Arab country is now included in the Arab Barometer or World Values Survey and researchers have numerous datasets to answer theoretical and policy questions. Yet some scholars express the view that the Arab survey context is more challenging than other regions or that respondents will not answer honestly. I argue that this reflects biases of “Arab exceptionalism,” more than fair assessments of data quality. Based on …