Twenty-six graduate psychology students at 2 Midwestern public universities used a self-report questionnaire for an exploratory study to rate interactions with faculty based on mode of address. When students addressed faculty by first name, they rated faculty as more approachable and helpful, and they felt more valued and respected by faculty than…

This inquiry was conducted to examine influences on perceptions of survey subjects regarding ideographic characteristics of the subjects, incentives to enhance mail returns, and multiple requests for information. A mail survey sent to 297 former education students from a large university produced responses from 48.3% of the sample. The ideographic…

The non-response bias analysis of data from a stratified nationwide probability sample of high school seniors produced evidence in support of the hypothesis that nonrespondents tend to be of lower "educational level" than respondents. A partial-response bias analysis of the same data indicated that there were similarities between the biases of…

The results of a questionnaire survey of science teachers in Great Britain are reported. For three curriculum projects, comparisons are made of questionnaire responses between teachers who accepted the project and those who rejected it. (CTM)

Computerized answer sheets in mail surveys are examined for their effects on rate of return and response bias. Results of an empirical study of job satisfaction suggested that computerized answer sheets may be used in mail surveys without significantly affecting rate of return or producing response bias. (Author/JKS)

The ability of respondents to properly execute Thurstone scaling procedures as opposed to Likert scaling procedures was investigated in a sample of high school students. Results indicate difficulty among respondents using Thurstone-type instructions to resist giving Likert-type responses. (JKS)

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)

Differences between signed and anonymous student evaluations of high school student teachers were investigated. Signed evaluations produced higher ratings. (JKS)

In a replication of an earlier study, a questionnaire with items lacking content and merely containing answer possibilities was administered to a sample of Dutch freshmen psychology students. Subjects showed a preference for positive options over negative options. (Author/JKS)

This study compared retrospective reports of childhood sexual and physical abuse as assessed by two measures: the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), which uses a Likert-type scaling approach, and the Computer Assisted Maltreatment Inventory (CAMI), which employs a behaviorally specific means of assessment. Participants included 1,195…

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…

Describes study conducted with U.S. Marine Corps enlisted personnel to measure response time to computer-administered questionnaire items, and to evaluate how measurement of response time might be useful in various research areas. Topics addressed include mood states; the occurrence of straight lining; and experimental effects of sleep loss and…

Examined are questions pertinent to the use of the Position Analysis Questionnaire: Who can use the PAQ reliably and validly? Must one rely on trained job analysts? Can people having no direct contact with the job use the PAQ reliably and validly? Do response biases influence PAQ responses? (Author/KC)

A study assessed the relative effectiveness of four types of follow-up techniques in increasing responses to mailed questionnaires requiring responses from multiple individuals. The respondents were college administrators. Copies of questionnaires designed to measure professional development were mailed to a random sample of 693 chief student…

A procedure for predicting categorical outcomes using categorical predictor variables was described by Moonan. This paper describes a related technique which uses prior probabilities, updated by joint likelihoods, as classification criteria. The procedure differs from Moonan's in that the outcome having the greatest posterior probability is…