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

56 ASKING QUESTIONS
Many behavioral questions, however, are not at all threatening,
or are only mildly threatening. Of the questions given in the previous
examples, only a few (those dealing with childrearing in Figure
2.5) might be considered threatening, and even here the threat may
not be serious. In some ways, social changes over the past several
decades have made the survey researcher’s task easier. It is now possible
to ask questions about cancer, drug use, and sexual behavior
that could not have been asked earlier. Only a few respondents will
refuse to answer these questions. Unfortunately, this does not mean
that such questions are no longer threatening.
Not all respondents will find a particular question threatening.
Thus, a question about smoking marijuana will not be threatening
to those who have never smoked or to those who feel that there
is absolutely nothing wrong with smoking marijuana. It will be
threatening, however, to respondents who smoke but are afraid that
the interviewer will disapprove of them if they admit it.
If you are in doubt about whether a question is potentially
threatening, the best approach is to use previous experience with
the same or similar questions. If no previous experience is available,
a small pilot test can be informative. (See the discussion in Chapter
Eleven. If the question is threatening or possibly threatening, see
Chapter Three.)
Eight Ways to Make Behavioral Questions
Easier to Answer
In the past decade we have gained a better understanding of the
methods respondents use to answer questions about behavioral frequencies
and numerical quantities, such as “How many times have
you done (behavior) in the past two weeks?” or “How many aunts,
uncles, and cousins do you have?” It is now well recognized that for
many such questions respondents do not attempt to answer by
counting individual episodes or units. Instead they often simply