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Research Tools > Midterm > Flashcards

Midterm Flashcards

1
Q

What are the main decisions when designing research instruments?

A
  • Appropriate type of questions
  • Make sure wording of questions, instructions and cover letter is clear
  • Decide method of distribution and return of the questionnaires
  • Determine methods of data collection
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2
Q

What are the three types of question content?

A

Behaviour
Beliefs and attitudes
Characteristics and attributes

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3
Q

What are the types of questions?

A

Direct
Indirect
Open-ended
Closed

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4
Q

When do you use direct vs indirect questions?

A

Use indirect when there is a sensitive topic
Typically use direct

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5
Q

What are the types of open-ended questions?

A

Infinite responses
Limited amount of answers
Starting questions
Follow ups
Questions bringing arguments
Questions bringing attitudes

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6
Q

What are the ways that answers can be recorded by interviewee?

A

Lists
Categories
Rankings
Scales
Grids
Quantities

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7
Q

Describe a list question

A

Multiple choices that are not mutually exclusive
“Check all that apply”

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8
Q

Describe a category question

A

Multiple options but all are mutually exclusive (e.g. at least once a day, at least once a week…)
“Choose only one option”

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9
Q

Describe a ranking question

A

Rank between 1 and 5 for example, placing numbers beside choices as per the instructions

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10
Q

Describe a scale question

A

Usually horizontally formatted
From strongly agree to strongly disagree for example

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11
Q

Describe a grid question

A

Multiple scale questions in one grid

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12
Q

Describe a quantity question

A

Question with numerical answer such as amount of times you have done something, or the year you were born etc.

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13
Q

What are the key response bias issues in survey research?

A

Non-differentiation
Central tendency
Leniency
Auspices
Telescoping
Fatigue

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14
Q

What is non-differentiation?

A

When a respondent selects the same answer for all questions

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15
Q

What is the central tendency issue?

A

It is the tendency of respondents to select answers in the middle of a scale question

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16
Q

How should you solve a central tendency issue?

A

You should expand the scale
(It is shown that reliability and validity highest for about a 7 point scale for bipolar scales, and 5 points for unipolar)

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17
Q

What is the leniency issue?

A

The tendency to give inflated ratings rather than true assessments (common in performance ratings of employees etc.)

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18
Q

How can you solve the leniency issue?

A

By shifting the scale down, for example:
instead of
not helpful at all - of some help - very helpful
use
of some help - very helpful - absolutely indispensable

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19
Q

What is auspices bias?

A

Bias in the responses of subjects caused by the respondents being influenced by the organization conducting the study

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20
Q

What is the telescoping issue?

A

A bias causing people to misremember the time frame of events

21
Q

How can you solve telescoping bias?

A

By expanding the time frame in question

22
Q

What is the fatigue issue?

A

When a respondents answers are affected due to the fact that the survey is too long/complex

23
Q

How do you solve the fatigue issue?

A

Keep the survey short and to the point

24
Q

What is the data on the fatigue issue in surveys?

A

It is shown that surveys that took more than 17.5 minutes led to predicted completion rates of less than 70%
Surveys with more than 30 screens/questions are predicted to exceed acceptable dropout levels
Other reports indicate that 55 clicks is a threshold level

25
Q

What is the social desirability response bias?

A
  • A response determinant that refers to the tendency of people to deny socially undesirable traits or qualities and to admit to socially desirable ones
  • Leads to over-reporting of socially acceptable attitude/behaviours and under-reporting of the undesirable one
26
Q

How does social desirability differ or remain the same across cultures?

A

The concept of social desirability is the same but the content of it varies

27
Q

Name some things that may be over-reported due to the social desirability bias.

A

Good citizenship
Being cultured
Helping others
Abiding by the law

28
Q

Name some things that may be under-reported due to social desirability bias.

A

Illness
Consumption of alcohol
Illegal behaviours
Financial status

29
Q

Can declared attitudes be interpreted as a predictor of real attitudes?

A

No

30
Q

How can we reduce social desirability bias?

A
  • Change the overall context i.e. explain that there are not good or bad answers etc.
  • Utilization of Marlowe-Crowne social desirability scales
  • Change the research design i.e. eliminate the interviewer and use SAQ etc.
  • Triangulation i.e. use of different data sources on respondents and their behaviours
31
Q

What are the potential problems with utilizing social desirability scales in reducing SDRB?

A

It does’t inform about the impact of SDRB on particular answer

32
Q

What are the potential problems with changing the research design to reduce SDRB?

A
  • Its not always applicable
  • Can make organization of field works difficult
  • It is hard to prove the effect of such provisions
33
Q

What are the potential problems with triangulation as a way to reduce SDRB?

A

Alternate data may not always be available
There may be time pressure and budgetary constraints
The credibility of the data sources may be varying or even unknown

34
Q

What is acquiescence bias?

A

A category of response bias that results because some individuals tend to agree with all questions or to concur with a particular position

35
Q

When is acquiescence most likely to happen?

A
  • When a question is difficult to answer
  • After respondents have become fatigued
  • During telephone interviews rather than face-to-face
36
Q

What are possible explanations for acquiescence bias?

A
  • Desire to be polite
  • Desire of lower social status people to defer to higher social status individuals
  • Inclination to satisfice rather than optimize
37
Q

What are the two extremity biases? Describe them

A

The primacy effect - people’s tendency to better remember the first piece of information they receive (common in self administered questionnaires)
The recency effect - people’s tendency to better remember the last/most recent piece of information they receive (common when answer options being read out by interviewer)

38
Q

What are the cognitive steps in answering questions

A
  1. Understand question
  2. Search memory for information
  3. Integrate information into summary judgement
  4. Translate judgement onto response alternatives
39
Q

What are the models of decision making?

A

Rational model
Normative model

40
Q

Describe the rational model

A
  • Problem is clear and unambiguous
  • Single and well-defined goal can be identified
  • Alternatives and consequences are all known
  • Preferences and needs are clear, recognized, and unchanging
  • Time and resources are abundant and accessible
41
Q

Describe the normative model

A
  • Based on premise that decision making isn’t rational
  • Decision makers are guided by bounded rationality
  • Decision-making is, among others, characterized by satisficing
42
Q

What is satisficing?

A
  • Satisfying and sufficing
  • Respondents not carrying out survey with the level of attention researchers expect
  • Explanation of how acquiescence is caused
  • “When faced with a demanding information-processing task, people often expend only the effort necessary to make a satisfactory or acceptable decision”
43
Q

What happens in weak satisficing?

A
  • Skip understand question and translate judgement (steps 1 & 4) and only do search memory and integrate info (steps 2 & 3)
  • Don’t properly read the question and so may not know how to answer follow-up, leading them to choose what they think you want to hear
44
Q

What is strong satisficing?

A
  • Only understanding question and translating judgement (steps 1 & 4) and skipping search memory and integrate info (steps 2 & 3)
  • Response is just a mere estimation as they don’t try to retrieve info from memory
  • Response may be what they think the researcher wants to hear (not aligning with the actual memories of the interviewee)
45
Q

What is complete satisficing?

A

Only translating judgement (step 4) and skipping steps 1-3

46
Q

How do you detect complete satisficing?

A

The following properties of questions are important to note:
- devoid of the need of info retrieval and integration (don’t need steps 2 & 3)
- selection of the correct answer solely depends on question comprehension (step 1 = step 4)
- no domain-specific knowledge or interests in question interpretation
- low cognitive demand, similar to instructions

47
Q

What are the regulators of satisficing/what can cause it to happen?

A
  • Difficulty of the task
  • Respondents ability to perform the required task
  • Respondents motivation to perform the task
48
Q

What are the two types of usual answers to open-ended questions?

A
  • No answers
  • Unpublishable

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