回答所要時間から見たElaborate Item Count法の回答特性

抄録

The item count technique, which is an indirect questioning method, aims to yield more valid results in social surveys than the direct questioning method by eliminating the effects of social desirability on responses. The technique requires respondents to only answer the number of applicable items on an item list. However, the mean responses of the technique are often smaller than those of the questions that require respondents to select “applies” or “does not apply” for each item. This underreporting tendency of respondents often prevents the technique from yielding valid results. Tsuchiya and Hirai (2010) proposed an elaborate item count technique for reducing underreporting. Based on this technique, respondents are asked to reply both the number of applicable and non-applicable items. In this study, the data used by Tsuchiya and Hirai (2010) is re-analyzed from the viewpoint of response latency. The analysis reveals that underreporting of the item count technique is remarkable in short-time respondents. The analysis also elucidates that the elaborate item count technique demands more response time than the direct “applies/does not apply” questions and the technique successfully suppresses underreporting even in short-time respondents. The redundancy of the elaborate item count technique is considered to be a main cause of suppressing underreporting by forcing respondents to more thoroughly examine their responses.