GESIS
#newpublication #Measurement #Prevalence
Out now: Gummer, T., Bartholomäus, S., & Weiß, B. (2026). Respondents’ Preferred Survey Topics: Measurement and Prevalence. Survey Research Methods, 20(1), 115–129.
https://doi.org/10.18148/srm/2026.v20i1.8479
Apr 23 at 7:00amWeb
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The respondents’ interest in a survey’s topic is frequently used by survey researchers to explain and predict survey errors. Whether respondents are interested in a survey’s content relates to their participation and cognitive answering processes, consequently impacting nonresponse and measurement errors. The content of a survey is under control of the researchers who design and conduct the survey, thus, content could be varied to improve participation and answering behavior.
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Unfortunately, research is lacking on (i) the topic preferences in the general population, (ii) whether groups of respondents differ in their topic preferences, and (iii) how to measure these preferences. The authors address this research gap by presenting the findings of three experimental studies that they conducted. They found that topic preferences varied between samples and respondent subgroups.
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Moreover, the authors validated a measurement instrument to assess respondents’ topic interests. Based on empirical findings, they derive practical recommendations for survey research and outline future research opportunities.