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What do respondents mean when they report to be “citizens of the world”? Using probing questions to elucidate international differences in cosmopolitanism

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Abstract

The measurement of cosmopolitanism, i.e. the feeling of being a citizen of the world and the corresponding openness towards other cultures and peoples, has proved to be challenging and several scholars have questioned its validity. In this paper, we use web probing, i.e. implementing probing techniques of cognitive interviewing in web surveys, to elucidate the meaning of a frequently used direct measure of cosmopolitanism that asks respondents to what extent they feel they are “a citizen of the world”. As a single-item measure, it cannot be analyzed by statistical approaches such as confirmatory factor analysis. We compare results from Spain, Denmark, Hungary, Germany, Canada, and the U.S. Though the majority of the respondents show an understanding of the item which corresponds to the intention of the researchers, a large part of them does not. In addition, some country differences in the open answers make sense but other differences between countries are hard to explain. We conclude that asking people to what extent they feel they are “a citizen of the world” does not capture well the concept of cosmopolitanism as used in the literature.

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Notes

  1. The Eurobarometer (European Commission 2012) used the following question: “I would like you to think about the idea of geographical identity. Different people think of this in different ways. People might think of themselves as being European, [nationality], or from a specific region to different extents. Some people say that with globalisation, people are becoming closer to each other as ‘citizens of the world’. Thinking about this, to what extent do you personally feel you are (1) European, (2) [nationality], (3) inhabitant of your region, (4) a citizen of the world.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) [Grant Numbers BR 908/3-1, BR 908/5-1].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, P.O. Box 12 21 55, 68072, Mannheim, Germany

    Michael Braun & Dorothée Behr

  2. Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, C/Madrid 126, 28903, Getafe (Madrid), Spain

    Juan Díez Medrano

Authors
  1. Michael Braun
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  2. Dorothée Behr
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  3. Juan Díez Medrano
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Correspondence to Michael Braun.

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Braun, M., Behr, D. & Díez Medrano, J. What do respondents mean when they report to be “citizens of the world”? Using probing questions to elucidate international differences in cosmopolitanism. Qual Quant 52, 1121–1135 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-017-0507-6

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