Topic
Unmatched count
About: Unmatched count is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 32 publications have been published within this topic receiving 3350 citations. The topic is also known as: item count.
Papers
TL;DR: The article reviews the research done by survey methodologists on reporting errors in surveys on sensitive topics, noting parallels and differences from the psychological literature on social desirability.
Abstract: Psychologists have worried about the distortions introduced into standardized personality measures by social desirability bias. Survey researchers have had similar concerns about the accuracy of survey reports about such topics as illicit drug use, abortion, and sexual behavior. The article reviews the research done by survey methodologists on reporting errors in surveys on sensitive topics, noting parallels and differences from the psychological literature on social desirability. The findings from the survey studies suggest that misreporting about sensitive topics is quite common and that it is largely situational. The extent of misreporting depends on whether the respondent has anything embarrassing to report and on design features of the survey. The survey evidence also indicates that misreporting on sensitive topics is a more or less motivated process in which respondents edit the information they report to avoid embarrassing themselves in the presence of an interviewer or to avoid repercussions from third parties.
2,802 citations
TL;DR: New nonlinear least squares and maximum likelihood estimators for efficient multivariate regression analysis with the item count technique are proposed and the two-step estimation procedure and the Expectation Maximization algorithm are developed to facilitate the computation.
Abstract: The item count technique is a survey methodology that is designed to elicit respondents’ truthful answers to sensitive questions such as racial prejudice and drug use. The method is also known as the list experiment or the unmatched count technique and is an alternative to the commonly used randomized response method. In this article, I propose new nonlinear least squares and maximum likelihood estimators for efficient multivariate regression analysis with the item count technique. The two-step estimation procedure and the Expectation Maximization algorithm are developed to facilitate the computation. Enabling multivariate regression analysis is essential because researchers are typically interested in knowing how the probability of answering the sensitive question affirmatively varies as a function of respondents’ characteristics. As an empirical illustration, the proposed methodology is applied to the 1991 National Race and Politics survey where the investigators used the item count technique to measure...
328 citations
TL;DR: The authors conclude that the UCT is a promising alternative to RRT in self-administered surveys and that future research should be directed toward evaluating and improving the technique.
Abstract: Gaining valid answers to so-called sensitive questions is an age-old problem in survey research. Various techniques have been developed to guarantee anonymity and minimize the respondent's feelings of jeopardy. Two such techniques are the randomized response technique (RRT) and the unmatched count technique (UCT). In this study we evaluate the effectiveness of different implementations of the RRT (using a forced-response design) in a computer-assisted setting and also compare the use of the RRT to that of the UCT. The techniques are evaluated according to various quality criteria, such as the prevalence estimates they provide, the ease of their use, and respondent trust in the techniques. Our results indicate that the RRTs are problematic with respect to several domains, such as the limited trust they inspire and non-response, and that the RRT estimates are unreliable due to a strong false "no" bias, especially for the more sensitive questions. The UCT, however, performed well compared to the RRTs on all the evaluated measures. The UCT estimates also had more face validity than the RRT estimates. We conclude that the UCT is a promising alternative to RRT in self-administered surveys and that future research should be directed towards evaluating and improving the technique.
292 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used the unmatched count technique (UCT) to estimate base rates for sexual risk behaviors and sexual risk behaviours after drinking and compared the findings with those estimates found using conventional methods UCT does not require the participant to directly answer sensitive questions, and thus, may provide more accurate reporting than other methods.
Abstract: HIV/AIDS is a disease whose only known prevention is behavioral Risky sex is one of the ways in which people become infected with HIV, as well as other STDS Estimating the base rates of risky sex and risky sex after drinking proves difficult This study uses the unmatched‐count technique (UCT) to estimate base rates for sexual risk behaviors and sexual risk behaviors after drinking and compares the findings with those estimates found using conventional methods UCT does not require the participant to directly answer sensitive questions, and, thus, may provide more accurate reporting than other methods In a population of college students, the UCT revealed higher estimates of base rates for having had sex, having had sex without a condom, and having had sex without a condom after drinking than an anonymous self‐report survey These higher estimates provide a better feel for the level of these risk behaviors, may help understand the relationship between alcohol and risky sex, and point to the need to targ
155 citations
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2019 | 2 |
| 2016 | 2 |
| 2015 | 1 |
| 2014 | 5 |