Unit:
Department of PsychologyLibrary of the School of Philosophy
Dissertation committee:
Κωνσταντίνος Μυλωνάς, Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Ψυχολογίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Σπυρίδων Τάνταρος, Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Ψυχολογίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Πέτρος Ρούσσος, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Ψυχολογίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Χρυσή Χατζηχρήστου, Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Ψυχολογίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Αικατερίνη Γκαρή, Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Ψυχολογίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Αλεξάνδρα Οικονόμου, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Ψυχολογίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Βασίλειος Γιαλαμάς, Καθηγητής, ΤΕΑΠΗ, ΕΚΠΑ
Original Title:
Ιδιότυποι Τρόποι Απόκρισης: Σύγκριση μεταξύ παραδοσιακών συνθηκών μέτρησης και συνθηκών συμμετοχής σε διαδικτυακή έρευνα
Translated title:
Response styles: Comparing across paper-and-pencil vs. online survey methods of data collection
Summary:
Response styles concern systematic tendencies of respondents to answer questions based on something else than the specific item content (Paulhus, 1991). Three such response styles were examined in the present study, acquiescence response style (ARS), the tendency to agree with items irrespective of content, social desirability (SDR), the tendency to give answers that are expected to be approved by significant others, and extreme response style (ERS), the tendency to use the extreme response options in a questionnaire. The internet is being increasingly used as a data collection method, and psychologists carry out various kinds of research through the internet. In order to use internet data collection as an alternative to traditional paper-and-pencil questionnaires, the two methods have to result in comparable data. The aim of the present study is to compare the online and the paper-and-pencil form of the same questionnaire in terms of the three response styles (ARS, SDR, ERS). The set of questionnaires administered via the two data collection methods, consists of self-report questionnaires (Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-STAI, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-EPQ, and Georgas’ Family Values Scale-FVS), and achievement or aptitude tests as a control condition, as differences in response styles between the two data collection modes were not expected in this latter condition. Each one of the three response styles was studied in one of the three self-report measures and in the control condition (achievement tests). Concerning acquiescence, there was a small effect in the paper-and-pencil questionnaire (FVS), but no effect in the internet version. Social desirability response style had an effect in the Psychoticism scale of EPQ for both data collection modes, and this effect was larger for the internet questionnaire. There was no difference between data collection modes in extreme response style in the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. In most instances there was no difference between the internet and paper-and-pencil questionnaires in the control condition (achievement tests). In conclusion, administering the questionnaire in the paper-and-pencil and online forms resulted in comparable data, except for some small differences that are important for the researcher to take into consideration.
Main subject category:
Philosophy - Psychology
Keywords:
acquiescence, social desirability, extreme response style, paper-and-pencil questionnaire, online questionnaire, multi-group structural equation modeling, multidimensional scaling with trigonometric transformation
Number of references:
191
