Interactions in Generalized Linear Models: Theoretical Issues and an Application to Personal Vote-Earning Attributes

There is some confusion in political science, and the social sciences in general, about the meaning and interpretation of interaction effects in models with non-interval, non-normal outcome variables. Often these terms are casually thrown into a model specification without observing that their prese...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tsung-han Tsai, Jeff Gill
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2013-05-01
Series:Social Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/2/2/91
Description
Summary:There is some confusion in political science, and the social sciences in general, about the meaning and interpretation of interaction effects in models with non-interval, non-normal outcome variables. Often these terms are casually thrown into a model specification without observing that their presence fundamentally changes the interpretation of the resulting coefficients. This article explains the conditional nature of reported coefficients in models with interactions, defining the necessarily different interpretation required by generalized linear models. Methodological issues are illustrated with an application to voter information structured by electoral systems and resulting legislative behavior and democratic representation in comparative politics.
ISSN:2076-0760