Questionnaire-Related Error

Error related to the questionnaire is one component of total survey error. This type of error is traditionally viewed as being a discrepancy between the respondent's answer and the "true" score or answer. Questionnaire-related errors may stem from the content of the questionnaire (the wording, ordering, and/ or formatting of the questions themselves), the method of delivery (whether by interviewer, by telephone, on paper, by computer, or some other mode), the materials that accompany the questionnaire (such as show cards in a face-to-face survey), or all of these things. The focus in this entry is primarily on response error by respondents, although these other factors can be considered secondary aspects of questionnaire-related error.

Recent work on questionnaire error draws on cognitive psychology to inform the design ...