학술논문

Is satisficing responsible for response order effects in rating scale questions?
Document Type
Text
Source
Survey Research Methods, 12(3)
Survey Research Methods, 12 (3)
Subject
Sozialwissenschaften, Soziologie
scale direction; response order effect; rating scales; satisficing; Web survey
Erhebungstechniken und Analysetechniken der Sozialwissenschaften
Online-Befragung
Fragebogen
Ratingskala
Antwortverhalten
Umfrageforschung
Social sciences, sociology, anthropology
Methods and Techniques of Data Collection and Data Analysis, Statistical Methods, Computer Methods
online survey
questionnaire
rating scale
response behavior
survey research
Language
English
Abstract
Rating scales are used extensively in surveys. A rating scale can descend from the highest to the lowest point or from the positive to the negative pole. A rating scale can also start with the lowest point (or the negative pole) and ascend to the highest point (or the positive pole). Previous research has shown that the direction of the scale, i.e., the order of the response options, has an impact on responses, and that respondents are more likely to select response options close to the starting point of the scale, regardless of whether the scale ascends or descends. This paper advances the literature by examining empirically whether or not the response order effect in rating scale questions is driven by satisficing. Drawing on data from five experiments, we found that scale direction had a significant and extreme impact on response distributions. Although the effect of scale direction was stronger among speeders than non-speeders, the effect was observed across the board among those who were at a high risk of satisficing and those who were not.