Threatening Questions, Knowledge Questions, and the Role of Social Desirability Behice Ece Ilhan Fei Lee

Where is the boundary?

Outlines  What are threatening questions? (Bradburn et al. 2004) Behaviors :: Knowledge :  What is social desirability in survey research?  What else might be threatening besides the questions?

Threatening questions about behaviors  Socially desirable Disease detection activities Library card ownership Book reading Seat belt usage Charitable giving Voting and voter registration  Socially undesirable Traffic violation Illegal drug use Use of alcoholic beverages Sexual activity Threatening questions are not always “negative”. It might be related to the ‘uneasiness’ of answering the questions (Blair et al. 1977).

(1) Are long questions always better?  In which cases using ‘long questions’ approach might work or might not work? (Ch3, p.87) Interaction with question structure or words familiarity. The total number of questions in a survey. Survey administration method used (e.g., face-to-face, telephone). Respondents’ profiles (e.g., illiteracy, education).

(2) Are open-ended questions always better? “Open questions are generally better than closed questions for obtaining information on the frequencies of socially undesirable behavior (Ch 3, p. 80).  Besides obtaining frequencies information, in which cases using ‘open-ended questions’ approach is better than closed questions?  Why & How open-ended questions can improve reporting? Using open-ended approach in threatening questions about knowledge. Open-ended approach might not work in every case (e.g., ‘yes or no’ social undesirable questions.) Open-ended questions reduce response effects (e.g., high- and low-frequencies response alternatives).

Outlines  What are threatening questions? (Bradburn et al. 2004) Behaviors : Knowledge ::  What is social desirability in survey research?  What else might be threatening besides the questions?

Threatening questions about knowledge  Knowledge of Historical events Public issue Health Products & manufacturers Occupations  Measuring Ability  National Assessment of education progress

Don’t Know vs. Not Sure “The answer ‘I don’t know’ is …to reduce guessing and to indicate that ‘don’t know’ answers are expected and acceptable. (Bradburn et al. p.203) Q: Do you think ‘I don’t know’ option could really reduce guessing? Q: What about alternative options such as ‘I’m not sure’, ‘I don’t remember’, ‘I haven’t thought about it’ (Bishop et al. 1986) ?

Does the order of knowledge questions matter? Study in Bishop et al. (1986) about fictitious issues: Bishop et al. explain that more guessing due to confusion or familiarity about the topics. Context effects of previous fictitious questions. Increasing pressures on the respondents.

Outlines  What are threatening questions? (Bradburn et al. 2004) Behaviors : Knowledge :  What is social desirability in survey research??  What else might be threatening besides the questions?

What is social desirability in survey research?  “manage social interactions by projecting favorable images of themselves, thereby maximizing conformity to others and minimizing the danger of receiving negative evaluations from them” (Timothy et al. 2002, p. 194).  Does social desirability differ across cultures, races, or gender?  What about social undesirability? The concept of social desirability is similar across cultures. But the content of social desirability varies. Some groups (e.g., immigrant groups or African Americans) feel like they have to confirm more due to several reasons (historical or political concerns). Social undesirability can also vary across cultures (e.g., marijuana, homosexuality issues, or household income). What else?

Outlines  What are threatening questions? (Bradburn et al. 2004) Behaviors : Knowledge :  What is social desirability in survey research?  What else might be threatening besides the questions??

What else might be threatening besides the questions?  Interviewers Gender bias Race bias Lack of interviewing skill Social class inequality effect  Survey encounter Timing (e.g., day vs. night) Place (e.g., home vs. office) Existence of others (e.g., alone vs. with family)

What to take home? 1.SOCIAL DESIRABILITY: SELF DECEPTION AND IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT 2.THE USEFULNESS OF OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS FOR SOME CONTEXTS 3.THE ROLE OF PRIVACY AND ANONYMITY 4.CONTEXT QUESTIONS BEFORE THREATENING QUESTIONS – EMBED QUESTIONS 5.MANY QUESTIONS MIGHT BE THREATENING ALTHOUGH THEY DON’T LOOK LIKE AT FIRST [This is an interactive class activity, which aims to summarize 5 important points of what we have learned in the session.]

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!