From the Guidelines
Response bias is not directly defined in the provided evidence, however, a related concept, careless responding, is described as a type of error where an item response does not match the respondent's underlying trait or attitude.
Types of Response Errors
- Careless responding occurs when participants are not basing their response on the item content, and it can occur when a respondent does not read an item, does not understand an item, or is unmotivated to think about what the item is asking 1.
- Other types of errors include faking, malingering, impression management, and socially desirable responding, in which the respondent reads and evaluates the item content and chooses a response that does not match their true level of the construct measured by the item 1.
Effects of Careless Responding
- Careless responding can introduce systematic errors that have the effect of inflating correlations, leading to biased estimates in means and spurious correlations between variables 1.
- It can also cause attenuated correlations due to random error 1.
Importance of Addressing Careless Responding
- Careless responding is a concern to a wide variety of researchers across many disciplines, and it is essential to prevent, identify, and address it to ensure the validity of survey data 1.
From the Research
Definition of Response Bias
- Response bias refers to the tendency of subjects to respond to items in research instruments in ways that do not coincide with the intent or content of the instrument 2.
- It can also be defined as the difference in responses between those who participate in a study and those who do not, which can affect prevalence estimates 3.
Types of Response Bias
- Acquiescent response bias: the tendency to agree with statements regardless of their content 4.
- Extreme response bias: the tendency to respond with extreme answers, such as always or never 4.
- Socially desirable response bias: the tendency to respond in a way that is deemed socially acceptable 4.
Consequences of Response Bias
- Response bias can lead to substantial error in measurements and assessments of mental disorders 2.
- It can also affect the validity of research findings, particularly in cross-cultural survey research 4.
- Failure to account for response bias can result in false positives, wasted effort, and adverse impact 5.
Assessment and Reporting of Response Bias
- Most studies report response rates, but few assess and report potential response bias 3.
- High response rates can reduce but do not eliminate the risk of response bias 3.
- Assessment and reporting of potential response bias could be greatly improved, particularly in blindness prevalence surveys 3.