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Interviewer effects in subjective survey questions: evidence from Timor-Leste

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  • Himelein,Kristen

Abstract

There is an inherent tension between traditional norms and survey protocols for quantitative data collected in the developing world. Unexpected interactions between the interviewer and respondent can lead to interviewer effects in the data, particularly in the case of subjective or sensitive questions. This paper makes use of a unique data set available from Timor-Leste containing subjective and objective questions to study these effects. In addition to their age and gender, data were collected from the interviewers regarding their opinions on the subjective questions prior to fieldwork. Fixed effects and mixed effects logit models are used to examine the main effects and interactions between interviewer and respondent characteristics. More objective measures serve as a pseudo control group. The paper finds interviewer effects in the both subjective and objective data, but the magnitude is considerably stronger for subjective questions. The paper also finds that female respondents are more susceptible to influence based on the interviewer's beliefs. Despite methodological shortcomings, the study highlights the need to consider more fully the impact of traditional cultural norms when conducting quantitative surveys in the developing world on topics that are outside the standard objective questions.

Suggested Citation

  • Himelein,Kristen, 2015. "Interviewer effects in subjective survey questions: evidence from Timor-Leste," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7208, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7208
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Su-Hao Tu & Pei-Shan Liao, 2007. "Social Distance, Respondent Cooperation and Item Nonresponse in Sex Survey," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 177-199, April.
    2. Martin H. David & Christopher R. Bollinger, 2005. "I didn't tell, and I won't tell: dynamic response error in the SIPP," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(4), pages 563-569.
    3. Phung, T.D. & Hardeweg, B. & Praneetvatakul, S. & Waibel, H., 2015. "Non-Sampling Error and Data Quality: What Can We Learn from Surveys to Collect Data for Vulnerability Measurements?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 25-35.
    4. Nora Cate Schaeffer, 1980. "Evaluating Race-of-Interviewer Effects In a National Survey," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 8(4), pages 400-419, May.
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    Keywords

    Gender and Law; Science Education; Housing&Human Habitats; Labor Policies; Scientific Research&Science Parks;
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