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The use of touch-screen ACASI in a high-risk population
implications for surveys involving sensitive questions
Willis, GB., Al-Tayyib, A., & Rogers, S. (2001). The use of touch-screen ACASI in a high-risk population: implications for surveys involving sensitive questions. In Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Statistical Association http://www.amstat.org/sections/srms/proceedings/y2001/Proceed/00610.pdf
How do wemotivate survey respondents to truthfully answer questions on sexual behavior, drug use, and other topics that are “sensitive”? This issue has posed a dilemma throughout the history of survey research, and many investigators have examined the issue of how to modify survey questions or administration procedures in order to maximize truthful responding (see Bradburn, 1983; Schaeffer, 2000; Tourangeau, Rips, & Rasinski, 2000; for reviews). Generally, these investigators have advocated the use of self-administration rather than interviewer-administration of sensitive questions, and the increasing capability of computers to facilitate selfadministration has in fact produced a technologicallydriven evolution in survey methods. In particular, the use of laptop computers having digitized speech capability has led to the development and widespread application of ACASI (Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interviewing) systems, in which the computer is used to present the questions via both headphones and the laptop screen, and the respondent is able to enter responses by pressing single keys.