Questions and Answers in Attitude Surveys Experiments on Question Form, Wording, and Context

by Howard Schuman; Stanley Presser

• ISBN13: 9780761903598
• ISBN10: 0761903593
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-03-01
• Publisher: Sage Publications

Summary

Comprehensive in its coverage, Questions and Answers in Attitude Surveys covers such issues as question order and response order effects; the lack of overlap between respondent-generated categories for open-ended questions and the closed categories generated by research, even with extensive pre-testing with open questions; the effects of explicitly offering respondents a "don't know" or a middle opinion alternative; attitude strength and its relation to reliability; and issues of wording tone.

Table of Contents

Revised Preface	ix
Preface	xi
Scope and Method	1	(22)
Past Research on Question Effects	3	(3)
A Systematic Approach to Question Effects	6	(4)
Question Form versus Question Content	10	(2)
Order Effects and Other Problems	12	(1)
The Principle of Question Selection	12	(2)
The Sources of Our Experimental Data	14	(1)
Method of Analysis	14	(9)
Question Order and Response Order	23	(56)
Question-Order Effects	24	(3)
The Frequency of Question-Order Effects in an Attitude Survey Types of Relations among Questions and Types of Order Effects	27	(29)
Response-Order Effects	56	(18)
Concluding Discussion	74	(5)
Open versus Closed Questions	79	(34)
Presumed Advantages of Open Questions	80	(1)
Goals	81	(1)
The Most Important Problem Facing the Country	82	(6)
The Work-Values Experiments	88	(16)
Values for Children	104	(3)
Concluding Discussion	107	(6)
The Assessment of No Opinion	113	(34)
Design	115	(1)
Effects of Filtering on DK Proportions	116	(10)
The Effects of DK Filters on Substantive Proportions	126	(2)
Effect of DK Filtering on Relationships	128	(13)
Further Evidence on the Identity of Floaters	141	(2)
Concluding Discussion	143	(4)
The Fine Line between Attitudes and Nonattitudes	147	(14)
The Agricultural Trade Act	148	(6)
Replication: The Monetary Control Bill	154	(3)
Consistency Over Time	157	(1)
Concluding Discussion	158	(3)
Measuring a Middle Position	161	(18)
Effects of the Middle Alternative on Middle Responses	162	(7)
The Effects of Middle Alternatives on Other Categories	169	(2)
The Effects of Middle Alternatives on Associations	171	(6)
Concluding Discussion	177	(2)
Balance and Imbalance in Questions	179	(24)
Formal Balance of Questions	180	(4)
Balance Through Substantive Counterarguments	184	(8)
The Search for Those Affected by Counterarguments	192	(7)
Concluding Discussion	199	(4)
The Acquiescence Quagmire	203	(28)
Theoretical Explanations of Acquiescence	204	(2)
Measurement Problems	206	(1)
Individuals versus Social Conditions	207	(13)
Women in Politics	220	(6)
Assertions versus Questions	226	(2)
Concluding Discussion	228	(3)
Passionate Attitudes: Intensity, Centrality, and Committed Action	231	(20)
Issues and Measures	233	(1)
Gun Permits	234	(10)
Abortion	244	(5)
Concluding Discussion	249	(2)
Attitude Strength and the Concept of Crystallization	251	(24)
Overtime Correlations for the Individuals versus Social Conditions Item	253	(6)
The Abortion Issue	259	(5)
Attitude Strength and Associations among Attitude Items	264	(4)
Random and Systematic Effects in Measurement	268	(3)
Concluding Discussion	271	(4)
Tone of Wording	275	(22)
To Forbid or To Not Allow	276	(8)
Communism and Question Wording	284	(5)
Loaded Stouffer Items?	289	(3)
Abortion versus Ending Pregnancy	292	(1)
Tone of Wording and Attitude Strength	293	(1)
Concluding Discussion	294	(3)
Some Final Thoughts on Survey Research and Research on Surveys	297	(20)
Question Form	298	(1)
The Rules of the Game	298	(1)
Question Constraint and Response Persuasion	299	(3)
Form-Resistant Correlations	302	(2)
Attitude Strength	304	(2)
Order Effects	306	(1)
Obstacles to Generalizations About Question Effects	307	(4)
Implications for Practice	311	(2)
Implications for Research on Surveys	313	(4)
Appendix A Mysteries of Replication and Non-Replication	317	(8)
Some Conclusions	321	(4)
Appendix B Special Sampling and Interviewing Problems	325	(16)
Sampling Design	325	(1)
Mode of Administration: Telephone versus Face-to-Face Interviewing	326	(5)
Response Rates and Reinterviews	331	(6)
Bias due to Various Forms of Nonresponse	337	(3)
Conclusions	340	(1)
Appendix C Education and Information Measures	341	(4)
Education	341	(1)
Information	342	(3)
Appendix D Additional Items and Codes Bearing on Acquiescence	345	(6)
Comparisons of Agree-Disagree Forms with Other Forms	345	(3)
Full Codes for Individuals-Social Conditions Follow-Up	348	(3)
References	351	(12)
Index	363	(8)
About the Authors	371