Dear Colleagues,

the deadline for abstract submission is approaching (January 13). Please consider submitting an abstract for our session at ESRA 2013

*The Trouble with Logit and Probit: Teaching and Presenting Nonlinear Probability Models *

*** While researchers in the social sciences have used Logit and Probit routinely since the 1990s, some of the difficulties in using various types of nonlinear probability models have received increased attention in recent years only. At least three important methodological problems have been raised in the discussion:

- The general interpretation of the coefficients is not as straightforward as in OLS - Coefficients cannot easily be compared between subgroups - Coefficients cannot easily be compared between nested models

Some of the difficulties stem from what has come to be known as "neglected heterogeneity". There are interesting suggestions on how to cope with neglected heterogeneity mathematically, and on how to interpret the coefficients in a meaningful way. Yet, these suggestions still have to trickle down to teaching quantitative methods, especially in undergraduate courses on multivariate statistics. Additionally, standards on how to present nonlinear models in publications still have to be established. Is the tabular presentation of coefficients we all are used to from linear models equally appropriate for Logit and Probit?

In this session we especially seek presentations on approaches to interpreting and presenting Logit and Probit results, as well as suggestions and experiences for teaching nonlinear models without neglecting these important problems. ***

For submitting an abstract, please log onto the ESRA website, http://www.europeansurveyresearch.org/conferences/register.

The 5th European Survey Research Association (ESRA) conference will take place in Ljubljana, Slovenia from July 15-19, 2013. The deadline for abstract submission is January 13, 2013. During the submission process, you will be asked to select the area of survey methodology to which your presentation belongs. Here, please select "Survey analysis techniques" and then the title of this session: "The Trouble with Logit and Probit: Teaching and Presenting Nonlinear Probability Models".

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries about the session.

Thank you very much and best regards

Henning Best, GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Mannheim, Germany, (henning.best@gesis.org) Klaus Pforr, GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Mannheim, Germany, (klaus.pforr@gesis.org)