Political trust among British first-time voters: a mixed methods investigation

来自广泛的跨国调查数据的最新证据显示，世界各地的公众信任度显著下降，这对未来的治理和民主产生了严重影响。着眼于英国，我提议的研究是一项混合方法调查，调查将有资格在2024年大选中第一次投票的英国年轻人（首次选民）的公众信任。之所以选择这一焦点，是因为这一人群在世界各地和英国的公众信任辩论中处于中心地位。通过与著名的公民教育慈善机构Young Citizens（应要求提供支持信）的合作，我的目标样本可以进入六年级。我提议的研究与esrc资助的TrustGov项目的目标一致，该项目由我提议的导师威尔·詹宁斯教授共同领导。通过对问卷数据和探索性焦点小组的分析，本研究将调查信任、不信任和不信任的定量和定性方面。研究的第一阶段将利用世界价值观调查第7期的措施来定量衡量样本内的信任，不信任和不信任。这一阶段将产生关于英国年轻人政治信任维度的新数据，并使首次选民与英国其他年龄组之间的信任维度进行直接比较。第二阶段将涉及一系列具有相同样本的6-10个探索性焦点小组，对参与者的信任态度进行更深入的了解，而不仅仅是通过调查方法。

Recent evidence from extensive, cross-national survey data has shown a significant decline in publictrust around the world, with serious implications for the future of governance and democracy. Focusingon the UK, my proposed research is a mixed-method investigation into public trust amongst British youngpeople who will be eligible to vote for the first time in the 2024 General Election (first-time voters). Thisfocus has been chosen due to the centrality of this demographic to debates over public trust both acrossthe world and in the UK. Access into sixth forms for the recruitment of my purposive sample will beenabled by collaboration with the prominent citizenship education charity Young Citizens [letter ofsupport upon request].My proposed research aligns the aims of the ESRC-funded TrustGov project, co-led by my proposedsupervisor Professor Will Jennings. Using analysis of questionnaire data and exploratory focus groups, theresearch will investigate quantitative and qualitative aspects of trust, mistrust and distrust. Stage I of theresearch will utilise measures from the World Values Survey 7th to quantitatively measure trust, mistrustand distrust within the sample. This stage will generate novel data on the dimensions of political trustamong British young people and enable direct comparisons between first-time voters and the dimensionsof trust amongst the other age groups in the UK. Stage II will involve a series of 6-10 exploratory focusgroups with the same sample, giving a deeper insight into the trust attitudes of the participants thangained through survey methods alone.