Asking Questions - The Definitive Guide To Questionnaire Design ...

80 ASKING QUESTIONS
e. The Sealed Ballot Approach:
In this version you explain that the survey respects people’s
rights to anonymity in respect to their marital relations, and
that they themselves are to fill out the answer to the question,
seal it in an envelope, and drop it in a box conspicuously
labeled “Sealed Ballot Box” carried by the interviewer.
f. The Kinsey Approach:
At the end of the interview, stare firmly into respondent’s eyes
and ask in simple, clear-cut language, such as that to which
the respondent is accustomed, and with an air of assuming
that everyone has done everything, “Did you ever kill your
wife?”
Some of the basic procedures described by Barton are still used
today, but others have been discarded as ineffective. In addition, the
development of powerful computer technology has led to new methods
that increase respondents’ confidence that their answers are confidential.
Yet as questions become more threatening, respondents are
more likely to overstate or understate behavior, even when the best
question wording is used. For example, to this day, one of the most
threatening questions still concerns household income. (Chapter
Nine discusses how to reduce the threat of this question.)
Checklist of Major Points
1. Self-administered computer-assisted procedures can reduce
question threat and improve reporting on sensitive questions.
2. Open questions are generally better than closed questions
for obtaining information on the frequencies of socially
undesirable behavior. Closed questions, however, may
reduce the threat of reporting whether or not one has ever
engaged in a socially undesirable behavior.
3. Long questions are better than short questions for obtaining
information on frequencies of socially undesirable behavior.