Attitude strength moderates adverse effects to questionnaire design

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

The presentation and visual design of the don't know category in rating scales on respondents' behavior may have ambivalent effects. The hypothesis is that attitude strength toward the topic influences the respondents' sensitivity to the graphical design of the scale. A paper-and-pencil questionnaire conducted among 307 German university students contained an experimental variation of the presentation of a don't know category and its visual design. A multinomial logistic regression shows that presenting a don't know category drives respondents toward extreme categories. The visual design of the don't know category influences the distribution of responses, all the more that the respondents' attitudes toward the item topic are weak.

Details

Original languageGerman
Pages (from-to)99-111
Number of pages13
JournalMathematical population studies : an international journal of mathematical demography
Volume25
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - 2018
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85051071444
ORCID /0000-0003-1106-474X/work/151436720

Keywords

Keywords

  • "Don't know" category, Attitude strength, Extreme category, Middle category, Questionnaire design, Rating scale