Chapter 3 · Questionnaire · Slide 100/274
Can the respondent remember?
Poor recall leads to omission, telescoping and creation. Ask about typical behavior, not exact counts.
3.2 · Inability to Answer
Hurdle 2 · Recall
Can the respondent remember?
Recall errors
Poor recall leads to omission, telescoping and creation. Ask about typical behavior, not exact counts.
Aided recall: "Which of the following brands were advertised yesterday?" (with a list) instead of "Which commercials do you remember?"
✕Example
"How many bottles of soft drinks have you consumed in the past four weeks?"
✓Ask instead
"How often do you drink soft drinks in an average week?"
less than 1×1–3× per week4–6× per week7× or more
QUESTIONSTAR · Dr. Paul Marx
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