Article ID: 2020_010
In this study, a direct and an indirect questionnaire survey of Japanese university students were conducted to accurately understand the actual conditions leading to illegal downloading. Two types of questionnaires were prepared, one asking the respondents directly whether they had engaged in any illegal downloading, and the other asking the same question by using an indirect questioning technique, which allowed the respondents to respond to sensitive issues while maintaining their confidentiality. The percentage of respondents indicating that they “had experience” with illegal downloading was 29.1% (using direct questioning) and 57.0% (using indirect questioning), revealing a difference of 27.9% between the two techniques. The results of this study suggest that illegal downloading may be more widespread than is indicated by existing surveys that rely solely on direct questioning.
