Umfrageeinstellung und Umfrageerfahrung. Die relative Bedeutung unterschiedlicher Aspekte der Interviewerfahrung für die generalisierte Umfrageeinstellung

In the following article we analyze whether and to which degree respondents’ evaluations of past interview experiences affect their generalized attitudes towards surveys. In particular, our study compares the relative significance of different evaluation dimensions. Our first result from a local survey based on a random probability sample indicates that the respondents judge their past survey experiences on orthogonal evaluation dimensions: the burden caused by interview participation, the “entertainment value” of an interview and the irritation due to confusing question wordings. As a second result, the mode of administration of the last interview proved to be a significant predictor of the evaluation of surveys in general. A face-to-face interview at the respondents’ home is found to have a more negative effect on survey attitudes compared with modes which invade privacy to a lesser degree. The third and most important finding of the analysis shows that the amount of burden experienced during the last interview has a significant effect on the generalized evaluation of surveys. Whether the last survey interview is judged positive or negative on the other two evaluation dimensions has no consequence for the attitudes towards surveys. In addition, the association between the subjective burden and survey attitudes is found to be conditional on subjects’ response-latencies. For those who answer the evaluation questions relatively fast, the content of these responses has a stronger effect on their generalized attitudes towards surveys. Thus, cognitively more accessible and more salient instances of burdensome interview experiences are especially relevant for the respondents’ attitudes, and therefore influences most likely the willingness to participate in future surveys.