This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Ostapczuk, M. Articles by Musch, J. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Assessing Sensitive Attributes Using the Randomized Response Technique: Evidence for the Importance of Response Symmetry

Heinrich-Heine-Universitaet Duesseldorf, Germany

Randomized response techniques (RRTs) aim to reduce social desirability bias in the assessment of sensitive attributes but differ regarding privacy protection. The less protection a design offers, the more likely respondents cheat by disobeying the instructions. In asymmetric RRT designs, respondents can play safe by giving a response that is never associated with the sensitive attribute. Symmetric RRT designs avoid the incentive to cheat by not allowing such responses. We tested whether a symmetric variant of a cheating detection model (CDM) increases compliance with the instructions in a survey of academic dishonesty among 2,254 Chinese students. As we observed more noncompliance in the asymmetric than symmetric variant, we recommend the use of symmetric CDMs, which can easily be tested within multinomial models.

Key Words: randomized response technique • privacy protection • cheating detection • response symmetry • multinomial modeling

Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, Vol. 34, No. 2, 267-287 (2009)
DOI: 10.3102/1076998609332747


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?