Table 2 Criteria used to compare matched items during the attribute comparison
Question attributes | |
Reference period | Time frame for which respondents are asked to report attitudes, behaviours or feelings |
Reference period (detailed) | Specific frame for which respondents are asked to report attitudes, behaviours, or feelings (e.g. in the last 12 months, in your main job) |
Balance of the request | Whether or not the question is formulated using both poles of the request |
Part of battery | Whether or not the item belongs to a battery of questions (i.e. a set of statements measured using the same answer options) |
Contingent on filter question | Whether or not the item is asked to a subset of respondents based on responses to one or more questions |
Interviewer role | |
Clarification | Whether or not the item contains clarifications, either within the question stem or as an instruction for the interviewer |
Instructions | Whether or not the item includes specific instructions and, if so, for whom |
Response attributes | |
Type | Type of response |
Number of categories | Total number of categories, excluding non-substantive responses (i.e., refusals, don’t know) |
Range | Range of plausible values |
Labels | The text linked to each response option |
Label order | Ordering or direction of verbal labels |
Polarity | Whether the scale is bipolar or unipolar |
Neutral category | Whether or not there is a neutral midpoint |
Symmetry | Whether or not the number of categories in bipolar scales is the same in both poles |
Showcards | |
Content | What showcard, if any, accompanies the survey question |
Response layout | Layout of the showcard’s content |