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Efficient item count techniques with one or two lists

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  • Andreas Quatember

    (Johannes Kepler University (JKU) Linz)

Abstract

If the direct questioning on sensitive variables leads to non-ignorable item-nonresponse and untruthful answering, a considerably biased estimator might be the consequence. In such cases, indirect questioning designs, which protect the respondents’ privacy by masking the sensitive information, could pay off in terms of accuracy through an increased willingness to cooperate. To achieve this goal, such a design has to be simple in its implementation for the users and easy to understand for the respondents. In this article, it is shown for one of the indirect questioning designs, the item count technique, how the usage of specific oftentimes available prior information can substantially improve the estimation accuracy and at the same time reduce the respondents’ task. This can make the method a stronger and more serious competitor of the direct questioning on sensitive attributes, which is commonly used in empirical research.

Suggested Citation

  • Andreas Quatember, 2023. "Efficient item count techniques with one or two lists," METRON, Springer;Sapienza Università di Roma, vol. 81(1), pages 5-19, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:metron:v:81:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s40300-023-00240-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s40300-023-00240-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Elisabeth Coutts & Ben Jann, 2011. "Sensitive Questions in Online Surveys: Experimental Results for the Randomized Response Technique (RRT) and the Unmatched Count Technique (UCT)," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 40(1), pages 169-193, February.
    2. Tasos C. Christofides & Eleni Manoli, 2020. "Item count technique with no floor and ceiling effects," Communications in Statistics - Theory and Methods, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(6), pages 1330-1356, March.
    3. Edmund J. Malesky & Dimitar D. Gueorguiev & Nathan M. Jensen, 2015. "Monopoly Money: Foreign Investment and Bribery in Vietnam, a Survey Experiment," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 59(2), pages 419-439, February.
    4. Blair, Graeme & Coppock, Alexander & Moor, Margaret, 2020. "When to Worry about Sensitivity Bias: A Social Reference Theory and Evidence from 30 Years of List Experiments," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 114(4), pages 1297-1315, November.
    5. S. Rinken & S. Pasadas-del-Amo & M. Rueda & B. Cobo, 2021. "No magic bullet: estimating anti-immigrant sentiment and social desirability bias with the item-count technique," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 55(6), pages 2139-2159, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. M. Giovanna Ranalli & Jean-François Beaumont & Gaia Bertarelli & Natalie Shlomo, 2023. "Foreword to the special issue on “Survey Methods for Statistical Data Integration and New Data Sources”," METRON, Springer;Sapienza Università di Roma, vol. 81(1), pages 1-3, April.

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