“No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as any manner of thy friends or of thine own were; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” - John Donne
In a thought provoking article on BBC News website, Michael Blastland discusses the use of the “Don’t know” response in social surveys and argues that “Don’t know” often masks an “It depends” response. I agree with him that respondents often feel that “Don’t know” is a default answer, in the face of insufficient context, and Robert Bain also talked about this in his recent article on being a fake online respondent. Read more »
“Don’t ask silly questions if you don’t want foolish answers.” - C. Ryland
I have a lot of sympathy with Roger Sant’s recent article in research-live.com on the need for researchers to provide more engaging and participative questions, and his recommendation to allow participants to define for themselves what is important. Read more »
