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Using Apples and Oranges to Judge Quality? Selection of Appropriate Cross-National Indicators of Response Quality in Open-Ended Questions
[journal article]
Abstract
Methodological studies usually gauge response quality in narrative open-ended questions with the proportion of nonresponse, response length, response time, and number of themes mentioned by respondents. However, not all of these indicators may be comparable and appropriate for evaluating open-ended ... view more
Methodological studies usually gauge response quality in narrative open-ended questions with the proportion of nonresponse, response length, response time, and number of themes mentioned by respondents. However, not all of these indicators may be comparable and appropriate for evaluating open-ended questions in a cross-national context. This study assesses the cross-national appropriateness of these indicators and their potential bias. For the analysis, we use data from two web surveys conducted in May 2014 with 2,685 respondents and in June 2014 with 2,689 respondents and compare responses from Germany, Great Britain, the United States, Mexico, and Spain. We assess open-ended responses for a variety of topics (e.g., national identity, gender attitudes, and citizenship) with these indicators and evaluate whether they arrive at similar or contradictory conclusions about response quality. We find that all indicators are potentially biased in a cross-national context due to linguistic and cultural reasons and that the bias differs in prevalence across topics. Therefore, we recommend using multiple indicators as well as items covering a range of topics when evaluating response quality in open-ended questions across countries.... view less
Keywords
online survey; international comparison; indicator; questionnaire; intercultural comparison; data quality; response behavior; survey research; data capture
Classification
Methods and Techniques of Data Collection and Data Analysis, Statistical Methods, Computer Methods
Free Keywords
comparability; cross-cultural; cross-national; open-ended questions; response quality; web probing
Document language
English
Publication Year
2021
Page/Pages
p. 434-455
Journal
Social Science Computer Review, 39 (2021) 3
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439319859848
ISSN
1552-8286
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Deposit Licence - No Redistribution, No Modifications
FundingGefördert durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) / Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG)