Abstract
In surveys, which are a commonly accepted research method in social sciences, we always observe a certain percentage of respondents giving no-opinion responses such as “no opinion” or “hard to say”. In this study, we treat no-opinion responses as a motivated decision to refuse to respond. The aim of the study was to determine what factors involved in the organisation of a study increase the percentage of respondents who opt for no-opinion responses. The factors on which we focused include in particular the significance of the difficulty of questions; the order of questionnaire questions; motivating respondents through rewards, and the research technique. In the first part of the study, 575 students were divided into 5 groups. Each group was surveyed about environmental consumer attitudes in different survey conditions. In addition, the respondents were asked to rank the difficulty of individual questions in the survey. Findings: The study showed that the percentage of no-opinion responses increases as the questions become more difficult. The respondents were more likely to avoid stating their opinion on those unecological behaviours that they exhibited more frequently. The change of the research technique from a questionnaire to a direct interview caused a decrease in the percentage of noopinion responses. The respondents opted for a “no opinion” response less frequently when the interview was conducted by a lecturer than when it was conducted by a student. Changing the order of questions also affected the percentage of no-opinion responses; however, that was only true for questions that the respondents recognised as easy. Conclusions: The study showed that the choice of a research technique intended to reduce the percentage of no-opinion responses depends on the quality of questions. If they are difficult and require the respondents to engage cognitive resources, a better solution is to employ the direct interview method. However, if the questions are sensitive and the respondent may feel pressure to give a response that conforms to social norms, a better solution is to ensure them anonymity, e.g. by employing the questionnaire technique.
Highlights
In the recent years, social research methodologists have been discussing the impact of including no-opinion response options on the quality of research findings obtained
In an attempt to answer the question “Does the difficulty of the question affect the percentage of no-opinion responses?”, we conducted a survey intended to assess the level of difficulty for individual questions
In order to examine the difficulty of the questions, we introduced two control questions about observable behaviours that, according to the authors, do not require a significant cognitive effort to answer, i.e. a question about disposing of trash in forestland and a question about using detergents in a household
Summary
Social research methodologists have been discussing the impact of including no-opinion response options on the quality of research findings obtained. Some researchers believe that no-opinion responses generate incomplete information and less valuable research findings (Saris, Gallhofer, 2014). This discussion is undoubtedly related to how respondents make their decision to give a no-opinion response, i.e. to refuse to give an opinionated response. A no-opinion response becomes attractive to them, having a negative impact on the quality of survey findings
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