Abstract
It is widely accepted among survey researchers that the use of probes by their interviewers can lead to more intelligible, more complete, and more easily coded answers from respondents. Yet it is not hard to find examples of the use of probes in the survey research literature that have failed to produce demonstrably better data. Since the poor codability of respondents' answers is the product of a number of factors, merely training interviewers to be more skilful in their use of probes is unlikely to significantly improve the quality of survey data. If probes are to be used, they should be both standardized and used systematically. It would be better, however, to try to eliminate the need for interviewers to have to use probes. Two positive steps the researcher can take in this direction are: to define key terms properly, and to specify the response frameworks that respondents should adopt when formulating replies to particular questions.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bilmes, J. (1975). Misinformation in verbal accounts: some fundamental considerations,Man 10: 60–71.
Brenner, M. (1985). Intensive interviewing, chapter 7 in: M. Brenner, J. Brown & D. Canter (eds.),The Research Interview: Uses and Approaches, London. Academic Press.
Cady, H.M. (1924). On the psychology of testimony,American Journal of Psychology 35: 110–112.
Campbell, A.A. (1945). Two problems in the use of the open question,Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 40: 340–343.
Cantril, H. & Fried, E. (1944). The meaning of questions, in H. Cantrilet al. (eds.),Gauging Public Opinion. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Converse, J. (1984). Strong arguments and weak evidence: The open/closed questioning controversy of the 1940's,Public Opinion Quarterly 48: 267–282.
Converse, J. & Presser, S. (1986).Survey Questions: Handcrafting the Standardized Questionnaire, Beverly Hills, Sage Publications. Quantitative series in the social Sciences: #07-063:
Crittenden, K.S. & Hill, R.J. (1971). Coding reliability and validity of interview data,American Sociological Review 36: 1073–1080.
Crutchfield, R.S. & Gordon, D.A. (1947). Variations in respondents' interpretations of an opinion-poll question,International Journal of Opinion and Attitude Research 1: 1–12.
Dohrenwend, B.S. (1965). Some effects of open and closed questions on respondents' answers,Human Organization 24: 175–184.
Foddy, W. (1993).Constructing Questions for Interviews and Questionnaires: Theory and Practice in Social Research, London, Cambridge University Press.
Fowler, F.J. Jr. (1992). How unclear terms affect survey data,Public Opinion Quarterly 56: 218–231.
Fowler, F.J. Jr. & Mangione, T.W. (1990).Standardized Survey Interviewing: Minimizing Interviewer-Related Error, London, Sage. Applied Social Research Methods Series, Vol. 18.
Geiselman, R.E. (1988). Improving eyewitness memory through mental reinstatement of context. Chapter 11 in G.M. Davies and D.M. Thompson (eds.),Memory in Context: Context in Memory, Chichester, Wiley.
Gilbert, G.N. & Mulkay, M. (1983). In search of the action, chapter 1 in G.N. Gilbert and P. Abel (eds.);Accounts and Actions, London, Gower.
Gordon, R. (1956). Dimensions of the depth interview,American Journal of Sociology LXII: 158–164.
Henry, H. (1951).We Cannot Ask “sWhy’. Paper delivered at a joint conference of the European Society for Opinion and Market Research, and the World Association for Public Opinion Research, Lausanne. Reprinted in H. Henry (ed.),Perspectives in Management and Marketing Research, London, Crossby Lockwood.
Jabine, T., Straf, M., Tanur, J., & Tourangeau, R. (eds.) (1984).Cognitive Aspects of Survey Methodology: Building a Bridge between Disciplines. Report of the Advanced Research Seminar on Cognitive Aspects of Survey Methodology. Washington, D. C., National Academy Press.
Lasarsfeld, P.F. (1944). The controversy over detailed interviews-an offer for negotiation,Public Opinion Quarterly 8: 38–60.
Link, H.C. (1943). An experiment in depth interviewing on the issue of internationalism vs. isolationism,Public Opinion Quarterly 7: 267–279.
Lipton, J.P. (1977). On the psychology of eyewitness testimony.Journal of Applied Psychology 62: 90–95.
Loftus, E.F. (1982). Interrogating eyewitnesses-good questions and bad, in R.M. Hogarth (ed.),Question Framing and Response Consistency, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass. New Directions for Methodology of Social Science, #11.
Marquis, K.H., Marshall, J., & Oskamp, S. (1972). Testimony validity as a function of question form, atmosphere and item difficulty,Journal of Applied Social Psychology 2: 167–186.
Marston, W.W. (1924). Studies in testimony,Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 15: 5–31.
Mishler, E.G. (1986).Research Interviewing: Context and Narrative, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press.
Montgomery, A.C. & Crittenden, K.S. (1977). Improving coding reliability for open-ended questions,Public Opinion Quarterly 41: 235–243.
Morris, P. (1981). The cognitive psychology of self reports, chapter 8 in C. Antaki (ed.),The Psychology of Ordinary Explanations of Social Behaviour. N.Y., Academic Press.
Nachman, S.R. (1984). Lies my informants told me,Journal of Anthropological Research 40: 536–555.
Nisbett, R.E. & Wilson, T.D. (1977). Telling more than we can know: verbal reports on mental processes,Psychological Review 84: 231–259.
Potter, J. & Mulkay, M. (1985). Scientists' interview talk: interviews as a technique for revealing participants' interpretive practices, chapter 11 in M. Brenner, J. Brown, and D. Canter (eds),The Research Interview: Uses and Approaches, London, Academic Press.
Richardson, S. A., Snell Dohrenwend, B. & Klein, D. (1965).Interviewing: Its Forms and Functions, New York, Basic Books.
Sanchez, M.E. & Morchio, G. (1992). Probing “don't know” answers: effects on survey estimates and variable relationships,Public Opinion Quarterly 56: 454–474.
Schuman, H. (1966). The random probe: a technique for evaluating the validity of closed questions,American Sociological Review 31: 218–222.
Schuman, H. & Presser, S. (1979). The open and closed question,American Sociological Review 44: 692–712.
Smith, T.W. (1989). Random probes of G.S.S. questions,International Journal of Public Opinion Research 1: 305–325.
Smith, E.R. & Miller, F.D. (1978). Limits on perception of cognitive processes: a reply to Nisbett and Wilson,Psychological Review 85: 355–362.
Suchman, L. & Jordan, B. (1987).Interactional Troubles in Survey Interviews. Paper presented in the session Cognitive Aspects of Surveys, 1987 American Statistical Association Meetings, August, 1987, San Francisco, CA.
Sudman, S. & Bradburn, N.M. (1982).Asking Questions: A Practical Guide to Questionnaire Design, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass.
Wilson, T.D. & Nisbett, R.E. (1978). The Accuracy of Verbal Reports about the Effects of Stimuli on Evaluations and Behaviour,Social Psychology 41: 118–131.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Foddy, W. Probing: A dangerous practice in social surveys?. Qual Quant 29, 73–86 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01107985
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01107985