Your Best Estimate is Fine. Or is It?

Timbrook Jerry (), Olson Kristen () and Smyth Jolene D. ()
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Timbrook Jerry: RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, U.S.A.
Olson Kristen: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 711 Oldfather Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0324, U.S.A.
Smyth Jolene D.: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 711 Oldfather Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0324, U.S.A.

Journal of Official Statistics, 2022, vol. 38, issue 4, 1097-1123

Abstract: Providing an exact answer to open-ended numeric questions can be a burdensome task for respondents. Researchers often assume that adding an invitation to estimate (e.g., “Your best estimate is fine”) to these questions reduces cognitive burden, and in turn, reduces rates of undesirable response behaviors like item nonresponse, nonsubstantive answers, and answers that must be processed into a final response (e.g., qualified answers like “about 12” and ranges). Yet there is little research investigating this claim. Additionally, explicitly inviting estimation may lead respondents to round their answers, which may affect survey estimates. In this study, we investigate the effect of adding an invitation to estimate to 22 open-ended numeric questions in a mail survey and three questions in a separate telephone survey. Generally, we find that explicitly inviting estimation does not significantly change rates of item nonresponse, rounding, or qualified/range answers in either mode, though it does slightly reduce nonsubstantive answers for mail respondents. In the telephone survey, an invitation to estimate results in fewer conversational turns and shorter response times. Our results indicate that an invitation to estimate may simplify the interaction between interviewers and respondents in telephone surveys, and neither hurts nor helps data quality in mail surveys.

Keywords: Estimation; enumeration; questionnaire design; data quality; respondent burden (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:vrs:offsta:v:38:y:2022:i:4:p:1097-1123:n:7

DOI: 10.2478/jos-2022-0047

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