Sometimes people answer survey questions dishonestly. One reason this happens is because respondents hold “socially undesirable” opinions about a topic.
A devout Muslim who opposes same-sex marriage, for example, may feel social pressure to hold the opposite viewpoint or risks the consequences of being called a homophobe.
In short, social pressure can cause survey respondents to give an answer that doesn’t match their true feelings.
Not only do people under-report socially undesirable beliefs, but also they over-report behaviors that are socially desirable.
Research has shown that respondents understate alcohol and drug use, tax evasion and racial bias; they may also overstate church/mosque/synagogue/temple attendance, charitable contributions, and the likelihood that they will vote in an election.
A 2014 survey conducted on behalf of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) supports this conclusion.
Their study is worth reviewing because of how it was conducted.
PRRI asked “identical questions about religious attendance, affiliation, salience and belief in God on two surveys – one via telephone and the other online – and compared the results.”
Americans reported being "more religious" in the telephone sample compared with the online sample.
36 percent of Americans reported attending religious services “weekly or more” over the telephone, compared with 31 percent on the online survey.
Likewise, 30 percent of telephone respondents and 43 percent of online survey respondents said they attend religious services “seldom” or “never.”
Honesty in surveys increases when privacy is maximized.
Besides assuring a respondent anonymity, how a survey is administered is the key factor.
A respondent who is interviewed in person with the questions and answers spoken aloud in a public place, for example, has minimal privacy. Conversely, a respondent who can read and answer survey questions online has maximum privacy.
People are easier to reach on the phone versus over the Internet. If personal characteristics affecting response rates are correlated with opinions, we can expect to find different results due to selection bias.
https://www.wral.com/do-people-lie-to-pollsters-/13682865/
Bookmarks