Abstract
Increasingly colleges and universities use survey results to make decisions, inform research, and shape public opinion. Given
the large number of surveys distributed on campuses, can researchers reasonably expect that busy respondents will diligently
answer each and every question? Less serious respondents may “satisfice,” i.e., take short-cuts to conserve effort, in a number
of ways—choosing the same response every time, skipping items, rushing through the instrument, or quitting early. In this
paper we apply this satisficing framework to demonstrate analytic options for assessing respondents’ conscientiousness in
giving high fidelity survey answers. Specifically, we operationalize satisficing as a series of measurable behaviors and compute
a satisficing index for each survey respondent. Using data from two surveys administered in university contexts, we find that
the majority of respondents engaged in satisficing behaviors, that single-item results can be significantly impacted by satisficing,
and that scale reliabilities and correlations can be altered by satisficing behaviors. We conclude with a discussion of the
importance of identifying satisficers in routine survey analysis in order to verify data quality prior to using results for
decision-making, research, or public dissemination of findings.
the large number of surveys distributed on campuses, can researchers reasonably expect that busy respondents will diligently
answer each and every question? Less serious respondents may “satisfice,” i.e., take short-cuts to conserve effort, in a number
of ways—choosing the same response every time, skipping items, rushing through the instrument, or quitting early. In this
paper we apply this satisficing framework to demonstrate analytic options for assessing respondents’ conscientiousness in
giving high fidelity survey answers. Specifically, we operationalize satisficing as a series of measurable behaviors and compute
a satisficing index for each survey respondent. Using data from two surveys administered in university contexts, we find that
the majority of respondents engaged in satisficing behaviors, that single-item results can be significantly impacted by satisficing,
and that scale reliabilities and correlations can be altered by satisficing behaviors. We conclude with a discussion of the
importance of identifying satisficers in routine survey analysis in order to verify data quality prior to using results for
decision-making, research, or public dissemination of findings.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-19
- DOI 10.1007/s11162-011-9251-2
- Authors
- Scott Barge, Goshen College, 1700 S. Main Street, Goshen, IN 46526, USA
- Hunter Gehlbach, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, Longfellow 328, 13 Appian Way, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Journal Research in Higher Education
- Online ISSN 1573-188X
- Print ISSN 0361-0365