Experiments in Wording Opinion Questions

Abstract

It is well known that responses to an opinion question can be influenced by the precise format and wording of the question. This paper reviews published research in two broad areas of question design: the effects of offering different response options, and the effects of response order and the context of the question. Results from a recent experiment provide further examples of question wording effects on both the marginal distributions of responses and the pattern of associations between questionnaire items.