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Seriousness checks are useful to improve data validity in online research
Frederik Aust1, Birk Diedenhofen, Sebastian Ullrich
1Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Duesseldorf, Universitaetsstrasse 1, Building 23.03, 40225, Duesseldorf, Germany. frederik.aust@hhu.de
Behavior Research Methods
|October 12, 2012
Summary
To improve online research validity, researchers can ask participants about their seriousness. Serious participants provide more consistent and valid data, making this a recommended practice for online surveys.
Area of Science:
- Social Sciences
- Psychology
- Political Science
Background:
- Nonserious answering behavior is a significant threat to the validity and reliability of online research.
- This behavior introduces noise and reduces experimental power, compromising data integrity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate a simple method for addressing nonserious answering behavior in online surveys.
- To assess the impact of self-declared seriousness on data quality and predictive validity.
Main Methods:
- A survey was conducted prior to the German federal election in 2009.
- Respondents were asked about the seriousness of their participation.
- Data from serious and nonserious participants were compared for consistency and predictive validity.
Main Results:
- Serious participants demonstrated more consistent responses to attitudinal and behavioral questions.
- Data from serious participants showed higher predictive validity compared to nonserious participants.
- Self-declared seriousness effectively differentiates between reliable and unreliable respondents.
Conclusions:
- Routinely employing seriousness checks is recommended for online surveys.
- This method enhances data validity and improves the quality of online research findings.
- Excluding self-declared nonserious participants is an effective strategy to mitigate data noise.
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