Interaction and the Standardized Survey

This is the first study of its kind to investigate in detail the interaction between interviewers and respondents in standardized social survey interviews. Applying the techniques of conversation analysis, Hanneke Houtkoop-Steenstra reveals how certain rules of normal conversation fail to apply in form-based interviews, and offers original empirical evidence to show what really happens. Highly accessible, her book sets out the tools of conversation analysis, and points to ways of improving survey compilation and the validity of data. It offers great insight to anyone studying survey methodology.

Preface

vii

Acknowledgments

xi

Glossary of transcript symbols

xiii

The standardized survey interview

1

(16)

Introduction

1

(1)

Measurement error

2

(1)

Question characteristics

3

(6)

Standardization of the interviewer--respondent interaction

9

(1)

Probing inadequate answers

10

(1)

Interviewer effects or questionnaire effects?

11

(3)

The data used in this book

14

(3)

Interviewer--respondent interaction

17

(25)

Introduction

17

(1)

Conversation Analysis

18

(4)

The sequential organization of conversation

22

(7)

Repair

29

(4)

The preference organization of responses

33

(2)

Turn construction and turn taking

35

(1)

The collaborative construction of talk

36

(3)

Mundane conversation and institutional interaction

39

(3)

Participant roles

42

(20)

Introduction

42

(3)

Interviewers' production roles

45

(5)

Interviewers as spokespersons for respondents

50

(4)

Reception roles

54

(4)

The survey interview as a complex interactive frame

58

(4)

Recipient design

62

(26)

Introduction

62

(2)

Survey interviews versus ordinary conversations

64

(5)

How conversational is standardized interviewing?

69

(1)

Redundant interview questions and their uptake

69

(7)

Recipient design in questioning

76

(9)

Conclusion

85

(3)

Questioning-turn structure and turn taking

88

(19)

Introduction

88

(1)

Turn structure of survey questions

89

(8)

Questioning-turn structure and sampling procedures

97

(2)

[Question]+[Response Options] turn structure

99

(3)

The response instruction component

102

(2)

Building the response options into the question

104

(2)

Conclusion

106

(1)

Generating recordable answers to field-coded questions

107

(21)

Introduction

107

(1)

Generating recordable answers

108

(8)

The degree to which questions can be answered

116

(5)

Reformulating unformatted answers

121

(5)

Conclusion

126

(2)

Establishing rapport

128

(26)

Introduction

128

(2)

Interviewers' reactions to respondents' talk

130

(14)

Reformulating scripted questions as no-problem questions

144

(7)

Conclusion

151

(3)

Quality of Life assessment interviews

154

(20)

Introduction

154

(1)

Psychometrically valid questions

155

(1)

Third-turn repair: presenting the scripted text as an optimistic yes--no question

156

(4)

Interviewers reformulating unclear talk

160

(4)

First-turn repair: presenting the scripted text as an optimistic yes--no question

164

(2)

Dealing with inconsistent answers

166

(4)

Frequency of answers generated by yes--no questions

170

(2)

Conclusion

172

(2)

Implications for survey methodology

174

(11)

Introduction

174

(1)

Conversation analysis as a diagnostic instrument

174

(3)

Detecting structural problems

177

(3)

Generating new research questions on question formulation

180

(1)

A quest for flexible standarized interviewing

180

(4)

The cost of flexible interviewing

184

(1)

Notes

185

(5)

References

190

(15)

Subject index

205

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Interaction and the Standardized Survey Interview: The Living Questionnaire

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials