Respondent hazards in the unrelated question randomized response model

Abstract

The randomized response technique is a method of interviewing which allows estimation of population proportion or mean of a sensitive characteristic while maintaining anonymity of response. This is accomplished by use of two questions in the interview, one sensitive and one not so, with the respondent applying a random device to determine which question to answer. The statistician knows the parameters of the random device but is kept from knowledge of individual outcomes. When the nonsensitive question bears on a matter quite foreign to the sensitive characteristic, it is termed an unrelated question, and the associated technique carries that designation. Critical in the construction of such a model are the assigned probability p that the respondent will select the sensitive question and the proportion Π y of the population having the unrelated nonsensitive characteristic. The choice of these parameters is discussed herein with reference to the risks perceived by respondents.