Details
Originalsprache | Englisch |
---|---|
Seiten (von - bis) | 381-386 |
Seitenumfang | 6 |
Fachzeitschrift | International Journal of Social Research Methodology |
Jahrgang | 24 |
Ausgabenummer | 3 |
Frühes Online-Datum | 4 Aug. 2020 |
Publikationsstatus | Veröffentlicht - 4 Mai 2021 |
Extern publiziert | Ja |
Abstract
Measuring respondents’ attitudes is a crucial task in numerous social science disciplines. A popular way to measure attitudes is to use survey questions with rating scales. However, research has shown that especially the design of rating scales can have a profound impact on respondents’ answer behavior. While some scale design aspects, such as scale length and direction, are frequently researched, some other scale design aspects, such as scale midpoint and polarity, are under-researched. In this study, we therefore investigate the effects of mismatches between scale midpoints and scale polarity–i.e., unipolar ‘moderately’ vs. bipolar ‘partly/partly’ middle options in unipolar scales–on respondents’ answer behavior. We conducted an experiment in a smartphone survey (N = 1,641) and randomly assigned respondents to one of two scale conditions (match vs. mismatch). The results reveal that mismatches between scale midpoints and scale polarity slightly affect respondents’ answer behavior. More specifically, mismatches cause small but significant shifts in latent means. Thus, mismatches pose a threat to attitude measurement.
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
- Sozialwissenschaften (insg.)
- Allgemeine Sozialwissenschaften
Zitieren
- Standard
- Harvard
- Apa
- Vancouver
- BibTex
- RIS
in: International Journal of Social Research Methodology, Jahrgang 24, Nr. 3, 04.05.2021, S. 381-386.
Publikation: Beitrag in Fachzeitschrift › Artikel › Forschung › Peer-Review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Mismatching middle options
T2 - consequences for attitude measurement in smartphone surveys
AU - Höhne, Jan Karem
AU - Krebs, Dagmar
N1 - Funding Information: We acknowledge financial support by the German Science Foundation [grant number: 139943784] through the Collaborative Research Center 884 ‘Political Economy of Reforms’ (project A8 and Z1) at the University of Mannheim. The authors are grateful to Annelies Blom (University of Mannheim), Carina Cornesse (University of Mannheim), Nourhan Elsayed (University of Mannheim), Daniel Qureshi (University of Frankfurt), and Stephan Schlosser (University of Göttingen) for their support in conducting this study.
PY - 2021/5/4
Y1 - 2021/5/4
N2 - Measuring respondents’ attitudes is a crucial task in numerous social science disciplines. A popular way to measure attitudes is to use survey questions with rating scales. However, research has shown that especially the design of rating scales can have a profound impact on respondents’ answer behavior. While some scale design aspects, such as scale length and direction, are frequently researched, some other scale design aspects, such as scale midpoint and polarity, are under-researched. In this study, we therefore investigate the effects of mismatches between scale midpoints and scale polarity–i.e., unipolar ‘moderately’ vs. bipolar ‘partly/partly’ middle options in unipolar scales–on respondents’ answer behavior. We conducted an experiment in a smartphone survey (N = 1,641) and randomly assigned respondents to one of two scale conditions (match vs. mismatch). The results reveal that mismatches between scale midpoints and scale polarity slightly affect respondents’ answer behavior. More specifically, mismatches cause small but significant shifts in latent means. Thus, mismatches pose a threat to attitude measurement.
AB - Measuring respondents’ attitudes is a crucial task in numerous social science disciplines. A popular way to measure attitudes is to use survey questions with rating scales. However, research has shown that especially the design of rating scales can have a profound impact on respondents’ answer behavior. While some scale design aspects, such as scale length and direction, are frequently researched, some other scale design aspects, such as scale midpoint and polarity, are under-researched. In this study, we therefore investigate the effects of mismatches between scale midpoints and scale polarity–i.e., unipolar ‘moderately’ vs. bipolar ‘partly/partly’ middle options in unipolar scales–on respondents’ answer behavior. We conducted an experiment in a smartphone survey (N = 1,641) and randomly assigned respondents to one of two scale conditions (match vs. mismatch). The results reveal that mismatches between scale midpoints and scale polarity slightly affect respondents’ answer behavior. More specifically, mismatches cause small but significant shifts in latent means. Thus, mismatches pose a threat to attitude measurement.
KW - Answer behavior
KW - composite reliability
KW - field experiment
KW - latent mean difference
KW - measurement invariance
KW - rating scale
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85088952092&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/13645579.2020.1803621
DO - 10.1080/13645579.2020.1803621
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85088952092
VL - 24
SP - 381
EP - 386
JO - International Journal of Social Research Methodology
JF - International Journal of Social Research Methodology
SN - 1364-5579
IS - 3
ER -