Factors in errors of omission on a self-administered paper questionnaire

This article examines the role of question and respondent characteristics on omission errors made on the 2007 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) questionnaire. Higher omission error rates were found for items with open-ended response formats, items placed outside of the body of the questionnaire, and items following skip instructions. Respondent and survey completion characteristics seen to impact omission error included age, education level, household income level, and the amount of time respondents reported having spent on the questionnaire.