Investigating the effects of populist communication Design and measurement of the comparative experimental study

This chapter describes the method of a 15-country, comparative online experiment (2*3 design + 2 control groups) carried out in Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. Most importantly, it examines the decisions made in relation to the experimental design. The experiment defined populism as a discursive social identity frame, extending previous conceptualizations of populist communication by offering a comprehensive manipulation of populist ideas on the left and right wing. The chapter outlines the quality checks and analysis strategies employed to prepare and analyze the large dataset (N = 14,499). It provides background information on the sample, panel companies and quotas, and distribution. Finally, based on this, it makes methodological recommendations for future endeavors that aim to dissect the effects of (populist) communication on a diversified international electorate.