The Effects of Question Wording and Framing PDF

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Andrew Van Schaack...

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The Effects of Question Wording and Framing 1. The way a question is phrased can significantly—and not just "statistically significantly”— how people respond to it. This should cause you to be skeptical of any questionnaire/poll results you hear about. Some factors that can influence responses to a questionnaire include: - The order in which the questions were presented - The context in which the questions appeared - Whether the question format was open or closed - Whether the questions were filtered - Whether the questions contained catch phrases - The range of suggested response alternatives - The order in which response alternatives were presented - Whether middle categories were provided - Whether problems were framed in terms of gains or losses a. What recommendation does the author provide to understand and minimize these factors? i. Including a middle category encourages people to choose that category, the inclusion of other response alternatives often increases the number of respondents who choose those alternatives ii. Using open-ended questions doesn’t force participants to choose one of the given answers, but actually say what they think 2. Schwarz et al. wrote, “Response scales are not simply ‘measurement devices’ that respondents use to report their behaviors. Rather…respondents may use the range of behaviors described in the response alternatives as a frame of reference in estimating their own behavior.” Provide a real-world example describing a behavior of Vanderbilt students that would be subject to this phenomenon. Provide two different forms of the question that are likely to yield significantly different responses. a. Do you consider yourself to consume an average number of drinks on a “going out” night? b. Do you consider yourself to drink more or less than an average Vanderbilt student on a typical “going out” night? 3. Describe how a “catch phrase” in a question can influence how people respond to it. Create two questions regarding sending U.S. troops into Syria to combat ISIS—one that would likely cause respondents to reject the notion and another where respondents would more likely support the notion because of your use of a “catch phrase.” a. Do you support sending US troops into Syria to combat ISIS to prevent him from causing more harm? b. Do you support sending US troops into Syria to combat ISIS in order to punish him for causing such harm? 4. Describe how the use of “allow” or “forbid” in a question can influence how people respond to it. Create two questions regarding a controversial issue related to Vanderbilt students.

Provide two questions that essentially ask about the same thing but yield two different results. a. Do you think Vanderbilt should or should not get rid of the roads in Greek row? b. Do you think Vanderbilt should or should not get rid of the roads in Greek row to create a park-like feeling and improve the aesthetic?...