Randomized Response: A Method for Sensitive Surveys (Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences)

How can researchers obtain reliable results about the frequency of behavioural traits which are embarrassing, frowned upon, or even criminal? How can they obtain honest answers to their questions and maintain confidentiality? Randomized Response describes an innovative survey technique designed to overcome the difficulties associated with sensitive questions. In the first part, Fox and Tracy discuss the sources of error in such surveys and then look at the traditional strategies (perceived as ineffective by respondents) for maintaining anonymity. The bulk of the book describes the randomized response method, showing how it can protect survey respondents and minimize bias. It also shows how the technique can estimate parameters of both qualitative and quantitative measures, test subgroup differences, and perform bivariate and multivariate analyses. Attention is also paid to survey design with the inclusion of sample questions and research examples.