 |
|
|
|
|
|
Influence of characteristics of respondents Figure 11.2 suggests how certain characteristics of respondents can influence how they answer questions. To begin, respondents may or may not know the answer to a question. Careful construction of each questionnaire item and extensive pretesting can minimize the possibility of asking questions that respondents are unable to answer. When a respondent knows the answer to a question, shown on the left in Figure 11.1, he or she may decide not to reply. When the respondent is willing to answer a question, any of three kinds of answers may be given. The respondent may make an unintentional mistake such as giving the wrong birth date. The best way to protect against unintentional errors is to word the questions and response categories as simply and clearly as possible. Also, during the interview you may identify an error by noting that an answer is inconsistent with other information supplied by the respondent. When this occurs, you can politely seek clarification and record the corrected response. 
Figure 11.2. Possible responses to a question Respondents may also give intentionally false answers. They may be less than fully truthful for any number of reasons. Where moral issues are involved or strong norms exist for or against certain behaviors, respondents may deny doing certain things that are against the norms. Pretesting should tell you whether these kinds of sensitive questions will be answered easily and truthfully. If you don't believe respondents are answering an item truthfully in pretests, it is better to delete the item. During survey interviews, there is no foolproof defense against lying on the part of respondents. All you can do is to be alert to any indication of lying and try to get the respondent to give an accurate answer. When a respondent knows the answer to a question, the desired answer is an accurate, complete response. Having a carefully constructed questionnaire and using sound interviewing practices will help get such responses. Even after careful pretesting of items, however, some respondents may be unable to answer some questions. When asked a question they are unable to answer, respondents can either: (1) honestly admit they have no idea of what to say which, while not useful data, at least is a valid reply; or (2) give a false and, therefore, invalid, response. You can reduce the possibility of obtaining false replies by getting respondents to trust you and by assuring respondents that any answer, even a "don't know" is acceptable. |