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An Experimental Evaluation of Popular Well-Being Measures

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  • Martin Kroh

Abstract

Drawing on data from two multitrait multimethod experiments carried out in the context of the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), this paper identifies questionnaire designs that minimize measurement error in reports of subjective well-being. Among the survey instruments most often used to measure well-being, the analysis focuses on three response formats (11-point, 7-point and magnitude satisfaction scales) and three modes of data collection (self-administered paperand-pencil questionnaires (SAQ), personal paper-and-pencil interviews (PAPI) and computer-assisted personal interviews (CAPI)). Results show that both the choice of a response format and the choice of a mode of data collection make a difference in terms of measurement error: The 11-point satisfaction scale and both CAPI and PAPI improve the quality of subjective well-being data. The paper also reports differences between response formats in terms of their ease of administration and illustrates that the choice of a survey instrument affects conclusions drawn from applied well-being research.

Suggested Citation

  • Martin Kroh, 2006. "An Experimental Evaluation of Popular Well-Being Measures," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 546, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp546
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    Cited by:

    1. Christian Scheve & Frederike Esche & Jürgen Schupp, 2017. "The Emotional Timeline of Unemployment: Anticipation, Reaction, and Adaptation," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 1231-1254, August.
    2. Romina Boarini & Margherita Comola & Femke Keulenaer & Robert Manchin & Conal Smith, 2013. "Can Governments Boost People’s Sense of Well-Being? The Impact of Selected Labour Market and Health Policies on Life Satisfaction," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 114(1), pages 105-120, October.
    3. Dolan, Paul & Kavetsos, Georgios & Krekel, Christian & Mavridis, Dimitris & Metcalfe, Robert & Senik, Claudia & Szymanski, Stefan & Ziebarth, Nicolas R., 2019. "Quantifying the intangible impact of the Olympics using subjective well-being data," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 1-1.
    4. Barrington-Leigh, C.P., 2024. "The econometrics of happiness: Are we underestimating the returns to education and income?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    5. Laura Schräpler & Jörg-Peter Schräpler & Gert G. Wagner, 2019. "Wie (in)stabil ist die Lebenszufriedenheit? Eine Sequenzanalyse mit Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP)," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 1045, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    6. Matthias Siembab & Nico Stawarz, 2019. "How Does Life Satisfaction Change During the Transition from School to Work? A Study of Ninth and Tenth-Grade School-Leavers in Germany," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 165-183, January.

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