ERIC Number: EJ1322183
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Dec
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-189X
EISSN: N/A
Assessing Survey Satisficing: The Impact of Unmotivated Questionnaire Responding on Data Quality
Vriesema, Christine Calderon; Gehlbach, Hunter
Educational Researcher, v50 n9 p618-627 Dec 2021
Education researchers use surveys widely. Yet, critics question respondents' ability to provide high-quality responses. As schools increasingly use student surveys to drive local policy making, respondents' (lack of) motivation to provide quality responses may threaten the wisdom of using questionnaires for data-based decision making. To better understand student satisficing--the practice of suboptimal responding on surveys--and its impact on data quality, we examined its pervasiveness and impact on a large-scale social-emotional learning survey administered to 409,721 elementary and secondary students. Findings indicated that despite the prevalence of satisficing, its impact on data quality appeared more modest than anticipated. We conclude by outlining an accessible approach for defining and calculating satisficing for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.
Descriptors: Educational Research, Educational Researchers, Research Methodology, Student Surveys, Questionnaires, Social Emotional Learning, Elementary School Students, Secondary School Students, Incidence, Student Attitudes, Data Analysis, Educational Policy, Student Motivation, Student Characteristics, Gender Differences, Self Efficacy, Identification
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: Researchers; Policymakers; Practitioners
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A