Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2549-2566 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Quality and Quantity |
| Volume | 56 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Early online date | 14 Sept 2021 |
| Publication status | Published - Aug 2022 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Abstract
Many study designs in social science research rely on repeated measurements implying that the same respondents are asked the same (or nearly the same) questions at least twice. An assumption made by such study designs is that respondents second answer does not depend on their first answer. However, if respondents recall their initial answer and base their second answer on it memory effects may affect the survey outcome. In this study, I investigate respondents’ recall ability and memory effects within the same survey and randomly assign respondents to a device type (PC or smartphone) and a response format (response scale or text field) for reporting their previous answer. While the results reveal no differences regarding device types, they reveal differences regarding response formats. Respondents’ recall ability is higher when they are provided with the response scale again than when they are only provided with a text field (without displaying the response scale again). The same finding applies to the size of estimated memory effects. This study provides evidence that the size of memory effects may have been overestimated in previous studies.
Keywords
- Memory effects, Mixed-device survey, Political efficacy, Recall ability, Repeated measurement, Response format
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Mathematics(all)
- Statistics and Probability
- Social Sciences(all)
- General Social Sciences
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In: Quality and Quantity, Vol. 56, No. 4, 08.2022, p. 2549-2566.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - New insights on respondents’ recall ability and memory effects when repeatedly measuring political efficacy
AU - Höhne, Jan Karem
N1 - Funding Information: Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. I acknowledge financial support by the German Research Foundation (Grant Number: 139943784) through the Collaborative Research Center 884 “Political Economy of Reforms” at the University of Mannheim (Germany).
PY - 2022/8
Y1 - 2022/8
N2 - Many study designs in social science research rely on repeated measurements implying that the same respondents are asked the same (or nearly the same) questions at least twice. An assumption made by such study designs is that respondents second answer does not depend on their first answer. However, if respondents recall their initial answer and base their second answer on it memory effects may affect the survey outcome. In this study, I investigate respondents’ recall ability and memory effects within the same survey and randomly assign respondents to a device type (PC or smartphone) and a response format (response scale or text field) for reporting their previous answer. While the results reveal no differences regarding device types, they reveal differences regarding response formats. Respondents’ recall ability is higher when they are provided with the response scale again than when they are only provided with a text field (without displaying the response scale again). The same finding applies to the size of estimated memory effects. This study provides evidence that the size of memory effects may have been overestimated in previous studies.
AB - Many study designs in social science research rely on repeated measurements implying that the same respondents are asked the same (or nearly the same) questions at least twice. An assumption made by such study designs is that respondents second answer does not depend on their first answer. However, if respondents recall their initial answer and base their second answer on it memory effects may affect the survey outcome. In this study, I investigate respondents’ recall ability and memory effects within the same survey and randomly assign respondents to a device type (PC or smartphone) and a response format (response scale or text field) for reporting their previous answer. While the results reveal no differences regarding device types, they reveal differences regarding response formats. Respondents’ recall ability is higher when they are provided with the response scale again than when they are only provided with a text field (without displaying the response scale again). The same finding applies to the size of estimated memory effects. This study provides evidence that the size of memory effects may have been overestimated in previous studies.
KW - Memory effects
KW - Mixed-device survey
KW - Political efficacy
KW - Recall ability
KW - Repeated measurement
KW - Response format
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85114873428&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11135-021-01219-2
DO - 10.1007/s11135-021-01219-2
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85114873428
VL - 56
SP - 2549
EP - 2566
JO - Quality and Quantity
JF - Quality and Quantity
SN - 0033-5177
IS - 4
ER -