Summary:
In this paper we examine the tendency for branching instructions to be ignored, misread, or otherwise not appropriately followed so that item nonresponse occurs for follow–up questions. The potential influence on branching errors of seven features of question complexity are examined, including high number of question words, high number of answer categories, last categories branch, all categories branch, write–in responses, location at the bottom of a page, and high distance between the answer box and branching instruction. A logistic regression analysis revealed that question complexity had a tendency to increase certain errors, but not others.
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* A more detailed version of this paper with additional analysis and discussion is available at http://www.sesrc.wsu.edu/dillman/. The opinions expressed here are those of the authors, not necessarily of the institutions where they presently work or the U.S. Census Bureau, which provided financial support for the collection of these data. We would like to thank Aref Dajani and Yves Thibaudeau for their advice on the analysis used in this paper.
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Redline, C.D., Dillman, D.A., Carley–Baxter, L. et al. Factors that influence reading and comprehension of branching instructions in self–administered questionnaires. Allgemeines Statistisches Arch 89, 21– 38 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s101820500189
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s101820500189