| NCJ Number: |
167357  |
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| Title: |
Use of the Psychological Laboratory To Study Sensitive Survey Topics (From The Validity of Self-Reported Drug Use: Improving the Accuracy of Survey Estimates, P 416-438, 1997, Lana Harrison and Arthur Hughes, eds. - See NCJ 167339) |
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| Author(s): |
G B Willis |
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| Date Published: |
1997 |
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| Page Count: |
23 |
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| Sponsoring Agency: |
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Bethesda, MD 20892-9561
NCJRS Photocopy Services
Rockville, MD 20849-6000 |
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| Sale Source: |
National Institute on Drug Abuse
National Institutes of Health
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 5213
Bethesda, MD 20892-9561
United States of America
NCJRS Photocopy Services
Box 6000
Rockville, MD 20849-6000
United States of America |
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| Document: |
PDF |
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| Type: |
Issue Overview |
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| Language: |
English |
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| Country: |
United States of America |
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| Annotation: |
This article describes the various cognitive techniques that have been applied, by Federal agencies and other researchers, to the study of sensitive questions. |
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| Abstract: |
Maximizing the tendency of survey respondents to answer truthfully when sensitive questions are presented is a critical issue in survey methodology. A recent development that focuses on reducing response error in survey data is the use of cognitive laboratory techniques during survey development. This article describes the techniques and recommends specific aspects of survey design when sensitive questions are administered. Cognitive laboratory study is distinguished from field experimentation in that this research is carried out as an explicit psychological experiment in the laboratory; is generally small in scale and qualitative in nature; and typically uses either focus groups, group discussions, or cognitive interviewing of individuals. The article concludes that: (1) face-to-face or telephone administration of sensitive questions may be inadvisable, especially when the questions pertain to illegal behaviors; (2) behavioral frequency questions should use open- rather than closed-ended format; (3) questionnaires on drug use should be relatively short to avoid respondent fatigue and increasing response error; and (4) the complexity of the concepts presented to respondents should be limited, especially where questions require them to provide a self-assessment of cause-and-effect relationships between drug use and deleterious life events. References |
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| Main Term(s): |
Controlled Substances |
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| Index Term(s): |
Comparative analysis; Drug research; Drug use; Evaluation measures; Evaluation techniques; Research methods; Self-report studies; Surveys; Testing and measurement |
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| Note: |
DCC |
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To cite this abstract, use the following link:
http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=167357 |
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