THE ROLE OF INTERVIEWER EXPERIENCE ON ACQUIESCENCE

Experienced interviewers are commonly thought to achieve better quality survey data than inexperienced interviewers. Yet few empirical examinations of differences in data quality on attitudinal questions for experienced versus inexperienced interviewers exist. In this article, we examine whether exp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Public opinion quarterly 2011-04, Vol.75 (1), p.99-114
Main Authors: OLSON, KRISTEN, BILGEN, IPEK
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accounting
Acquiescence
Attitude surveys
Behavior
Data collection
Data Quality
Evaluation
Interviewers
Interviews
Measurement techniques
Monitoring
Multilevel models
Nondirective interviews
Opinion polls
Public opinion
Quality
Quality of work
Questionnaires
Rapport
Research Notes
Respondents
Social surveys
Statistical variance
Studies
Telephones
Training
Work experience
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Summary:Experienced interviewers are commonly thought to achieve better quality survey data than inexperienced interviewers. Yet few empirical examinations of differences in data quality on attitudinal questions for experienced versus inexperienced interviewers exist. In this article, we examine whether experienced and inexperienced interviewers differ in their levels of a commonly evaluated data quality measure—acquiescence—in two national surveys. We hypothesize that experienced interviewers will have higher rates of acquiescence than inexperienced interviewers due to either differential pace or differential behaviors. We find that experienced interviewers obtain higher levels of acquiescent reports than do inexperienced interviewers, even after accounting for potential differences in interviewer and respondent characteristics. These differences across interviewers are not mediated by differential pace of the interview, as measured by interview length, implying that there may be differences in interview behaviors for experienced and inexperienced interviewers. We conclude with implications for survey practice and interviewer training and monitoring.
ISSN:0033-362X
1537-5331
DOI:10.1093/poq/nfq067