ERIC Number: EJ1289720
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1364-5579
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
The Time It Takes to Reveal Embarrassing Information in a Mobile Phone Survey
International Journal of Social Research Methodology, v24 n2 p249-264 2021
To explore socially desirable responding in telephone surveys, this study examines response latencies in answers to 27 questions in a corpus of 319 audio-recorded voice interviews on iPhones. Response latencies were compared when respondents (a) answered questions on sensitive vs. nonsensitive topics (as classified by online raters); (b) produced more vs. less socially desirable answers; and (c) were interviewed by a professional interviewer or an automated system. Respondents answered questions on sensitive topics more quickly than on nonsensitive topics, though patterns varied by question format (categorical, numerical, ordinal). Independent of question sensitivity, respondents gave less socially desirable answers more quickly when answering categorical and ordinal questions but more slowly when answering numeric questions. Respondents were particularly quicker to answer sensitive questions when asked by interviewers than by the automated system. Findings demonstrate that response times can be (differently) revealing about question and response sensitivity in a telephone survey.
Descriptors: Telephone Surveys, Handheld Devices, Responses, Interviews, Self Disclosure (Individuals), Social Desirability, Reaction Time, Audio Equipment, Automation
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF); Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: SES1026225; SES1025645; P2CHD041028
Author Affiliations: N/A