Date of Award
8-1995
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Sociology
First Advisor
Dr. Jim Petersen
Second Advisor
Dr. Sue Crull
Third Advisor
Dr. Tom VanValey
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
The question of how best to handle "don't know" responses continues to be a troublesome problem to survey researchers. There are no guidelines for handling "don't know" responses because little systematic investigation for the problem has been made. This research addresses the characteristics of those who answer "don't know" in social surveys. I am focusing on four independent variables, sex, age, income, and education. Included in this research will also be an independent variable of interviewer gender. The fact that most survey research does not record the sex of the interviewer has caused this research to be somewhat limited. I plan to discover the different characteristics of those who answer "don't know" and "neutral" and also look at any effects interviewer gender may have on the respondents answering "don't know."
Recommended Citation
Hinkle, Christine Lewerenz, "Patterns of "I Don't Know" Responses in Telephone Surveys" (1995). Masters Theses. 4073.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/4073