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

GLOSSARY 349
in terms of one end of a dimension with a neutral or “not-X” point—
for example, “Do you favor X or not?” A bipolar question assumes
that the attitude runs from positive to negative values, with a neutral
point in the middle; unipolar questions assume that the attitude
runs from positive to neutral or from negative to neutral but that a
positive view is not necessarily the opposite of a negative view.
bounded recall A procedure for improving a respondent’s memory
for dates of events by means of a series of interviews. The initial
interview is unbounded, and data from it are not used. On all subsequent
interviews, the respondent is reminded of events reported
previously, and the interviewer also checks to make sure there is no
duplication between events in the current interview and those
reported earlier.
card sorting A procedure for obtaining answers that requires the
respondent to place answers printed on cards into two or more piles.
For example, respondents may be asked to sort a set of threatening
behaviors into two piles, depending on whether they have ever
done them or not. As another example, respondents might be asked
to place a series of future events into nine piles, depending on how
likely they think the events are to occur. The advantages of this
procedure are that it appears to be less threatening than requiring
an oral response to a question, it allows respondents to change their
minds easily by resorting, and it adds variety to the survey.
cards Material the interviewer hands the respondent during the
interview, generally on a cardboard card approximately 5 by 8
inches. The card might contain a list of answer categories when
there are too many for the respondent to remember, or it might
show a picture or diagram to which a reaction is required. Cards are
usually numbered or lettered and placed on a ring so that the interviewer
can find the proper card easily.
CATI (computer-assisted telephone interviewing) A telephone
interviewing method in which a printed questionnaire is not used;
instead, the questions appear on a computer screen, and the answers