Skip to contentScholarGate
LibraryBookshelfDeskReview StudioAssistant
Sign in
Spiral of Silence Survey/Evidence
Method evidence record

Spiral of Silence Survey

The spiral of silence survey operationalizes Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's 1974 theory that people who perceive their opinion to be in the minority grow reluctant to express it for fear of social isolation, which makes the apparent majority seem ever stronger — a self-reinforcing spiral. The method measures individuals' own opinions, their perception of the opinion climate, their fear of isolation, and their willingness to speak out, then models how these combine.

Sources recorded, not reviewed

Source record

Citations copied verbatim from the method’s source record. No claim-level verification is inferred from them.

Spiral of Silence Survey Methodology
Taxonomic method record · process-pipeline / communication
  • Noelle-Neumann, E. (1974). The spiral of silence: A theory of public opinion. Journal of Communication, 24(2), 43–51. · DOI 10.1111/j.1460-2466.1974.tb00367.x
  • Scheufele, D. A., & Moy, P. (2000). Twenty-five years of the spiral of silence: A conceptual review and empirical outlook. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 12(1), 3–28. · DOI 10.1093/ijpor/12.1.3
Open full method

Curated claims

Claims persisted in the evidence ledger, each with its own assessment.

No curated claims yet

This view does not invent a claim assessment when the ledger has none.

Related methods

Generated from the method graph and shown as machine-suggested relations — no evidence claim is inferred.

Same method familyAgenda-Setting Analysismachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.Same method familyCultivation Analysismachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.Same method familyMedia System Dependency Analysismachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.Taxonomic bucketThird-Person Effect Surveymachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.

Evidence status

Sources recorded, not reviewed

Bibliographic sources are present. Claim-level evidence review has not been performed.

Sources

2 recorded citations, copied from the method source record.

Actions

Open method page
ScholarGate

A content-first reference library for research methods — what each one is, how it works, and where it comes from.

Open data (CC-BY)

Explore

  • Library
  • Search the library…
  • Browse by field
  • Fields
  • Journey
  • Compare
  • Which method?

Reference

  • Subjects
  • Atlas
  • Glossary
  • Methodology
  • Philosophy

Your tools

  • Bookshelf
  • Desk
  • Chat

Company

  • About
  • Pricing
  • Contact
  • Suggest a method

Entries are compiled from published sources for reference. Verifying the accuracy and suitability of any information for your own use remains your responsibility.

© 2026 ScholarGate · A research-method reference library
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Terms
  • Delete account