Testing effects of question formats in Schwartz's Portrait Values Indicator using experimental research

Description

In Schwartz’s Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ) each item consists of two statements that describe an individual’s goals, aspirations or wishes which refer implicitly to a single underling value. Schwartz’s PVQ asks respondents to give a single response to the two statements for each item. In the study reported on in this paper we focused on his two statements approach in the design of the PVQ. Anecdotal evidence and Cognitive Response Theory alert us to potential measurement error. According to Sudman's Cognitive Response Theory a person reads the item in a questionnaire until he/she has got an understanding. Consequently it can be assumed that some persons read only the first statement, others read both statements before they respond. Hence respondents are influenced by different themes contained in the statements and their answers might not be comparable. Our central research question is: Do the responses to the 21 items in Schwartz’s Portrait Values Questionnaire where each item contains two statements, differ significantly, when two responses are allowed per item (i.e. split version) from when a single response is allowed? Our study aimed to test different question formats. In order to answer this research question we adopted an experimental design in a two-wave panel study. In the first wave we used Schwartz’s 21-Item PVQ. In the second wave we separated the statements and required responses to each statement. Data was collected from sociology classes in two universities: one in Austria (n=52) and the other in South Africa (n=61). The main preliminary finding shows that there is some support for our hypotheses.

Period	24 Jul 2014
Event title	VI European Congress of Methodology
Event type	Conference
Location	NetherlandsShow on map