Using MP3 Players in Surveys: The Impact of a Low-Tech Self-Administration Mode on Reporting of Sensitive Attitudes

Abstract

This article introduces an inexpensive, low-tech Audio-Self-Administered Questionnaire that uses a basic MP3 player (MP3/ASAQ) and compares its performance in collecting data about sensitive attitudes with a number of alternatives, including a face-to-face survey. The paper compares five administration procedures in an experiment conducted in a survey on sensitive caste-related attitudes in rural India. Respondents in the MP3/ASAQ group listened to a prerecorded instrument that presented them with a number of first-person statements made by “respondents like [them],” entered their responses on an answer sheet using simple shapes and logos, and finally placed their form in a bolted ballot box. Like previous studies evaluating self-administration techniques, our study indicates that the MP3/ASAQ significantly increased socially undesirable answers, as compared with an equivalent face-to-face interview. Comparisons with additional administration procedures suggest that when self-administration is combined with the use of earphones the threat of bystander disapproval (as opposed to interviewer disapproval) is reduced by effectively isolating respondents from their social environment.