Web, or online, probing has the potential to supplement existing questionnaire design processes by providing structured cognitive data on a wider sample than typical qualitative-only question evaluation methods can achieve. One of the practical impediments to the further integration of web probing is the concern of survey managers about how the…

Questionnaires routinely measure unipolar and bipolar constructs using rating scales. Such rating scales can offer odd numbers of points, meaning that they have explicit middle alternatives, or they can offer even numbers of points, omitting the middle alternative. By examining four types of questions in six national or regional telephone surveys,…

The effect of the response scale direction on response behavior is a well-known phenomenon in survey research. While there are several approaches to explaining how such response order effects occur, the literature reports mixed evidence. Furthermore, different question formats seem to vary in their susceptibility to these effects. We therefore…

Questionnaire instruments are routinely translated to digital administration systems; however, few studies have compared the differential effects of these administrative methods, and fewer yet in authentic contexts-of-use. In this study, 326 university students were randomly assigned to one of two administration conditions, paper-based (PBA) or…

Purpose--The purpose of this research is to examine participants' response rate on dual style training course evaluation forms. These combine structured and open-ended formats. Pencil and paper forms have a long history of use by trainers in business and commerce and more recently in education. Research methods texts tend to have neglected the…

This study provides support for the hypothesized effect of leniency on the discriminant validity of grouped questionnaire items. It was found that controlling for leniency resulted in a slight decrement in convergent validity but that discriminant validity was substantially improved. Implications for questionnaire validity and further research are…

Effects of item presentation mode on degree of leniency bias in responses to field research questionnaires were studied. Two modes were examined: first with items measuring the same dimensions grouped together and second with such items distributed randomly. The random mode showed substantially less leniency response bias. (Author/BW)

The empirical evidence does not support the prevailing conventional wisdom that it is advisable to mix positively and negatively worded items in psychological measures to counteract acquiescence response bias. An experiment, evaluating subjects' ability to respond accurately to both positive and reversed items on a questionnaire, analyzed post-hoc…

In a study of questioning formats, children and adults answered spelling questions in an open-ended condition or one of two close-ended conditions where options were likely or unlikely. Participants presented with unlikely-response options generated their own responses more often than participants presented with likely-response options. Children…

The random response technique was compared to a direct questionnaire, administered to college students, to investigate whether or not the responses predicted the social desirability of the item. Results suggest support for the hypothesis. A 33-item version of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale which was used is included. (GDC)

The goal of this study was to assess the relative merit of various ranges and types of response scales in terms of respondent satisfaction and comfort and the nature of the elicited information in a population of seventh grade students. Three versions of an attitudinal questionnaire, each containing the same items but employing a different…

Five questionnaire forms containing 61 items specifying potential inservice topics for public school teachers were sent to a stratified random sample of Indiana public school administrators and curriculum supervisors. The five forms differed in that, for two forms, the items were ungrouped and appeared in different orders; and, for three forms,…

Surveys used for program and institutional evaluation, such as self-studies conducted for accreditation review, are discussed. Frequently, these evaluations take the form of faculty surveys and student surveys. This paper explores the following general considerations associated with mail surveys and other surveys: avoidance of response bias;…

To discover factors which contribute to a high response rate for questionnaire surveys, the preferences of 150 college teachers and teaching assistants were studied. Four different questionnaire formats using 34 common items were sent to the subjects: open-ended; Likert-type (five points, from "strong influence to return," to…

Adults' responses to a survey of television viewing were investigated to examine the premise that respondents assume that the range of precoded response alternatives reflects the researcher's knowledge of the distribution of opinions or behaviors in the population. Responses are, therefore, a function of the response alternatives provided.…