Question: In order to avoid respondents associating the term "full-time employment" exclusively with a salaried job, we recommend rephrasing the question.
One possible rewording would be:
"Having a job is the best way for a woman to be financially independent." ["Einen Job zu haben ist der beste Weg für eine Frau, finanziell unabhängig zu sein."]
If the focus of the question is on women working full-time to address the issue of the large number of women with part-time jobs, we recommend the following alternative wording:
"Working full time is the best way for a woman to be financially independent." ["Vollzeit zu arbeiten ist der beste Weg für eine Frau, finanziell unabhängig zu sein."]
Response format: No changes recommended.
What do the test persons understand by "full-time employment"?
All test persons defined the term "full-time employment" as a full-time job, working about eight hours a day, five days a week:
What do the test persons understand by "being financially independent"?
All test persons interpreted the term to mean not relying on other people or sources of money to finance their own lives:
Do test persons have trouble understanding or answering the question?
With the exception of test person 01, all persons were able to locate themselves on the answer scale. Test person 01 justified her "Don't know" answer by saying that, in her opinion, full-time employment is a good way to be financially independent, but not the best or only way:
Of the remaining nine test persons, the majority (n = 7) stated that they tended to agree or fully agreed with the statement (scale points 5 to 7). Only two test persons (TP 03, TP 05) (tended to) disagree with the statement (scale points 2 and 3).
In the cognitive interviews, the test persons were asked to explain their answers in more detail or to give reasons (General Probe, Category Selection Probe). This revealed that two test persons (TP 03, 06) interpreted the term "full-time employment" exclusively as an activity in an employee relationship and excluded a self-employed or freelance activity. While this misinterpretation had only a minor influence on the answer to the question for test person 06 (she chose scale point 6 instead of 7), it led to a strong distortion of the answer for test person 03 (scale point 2 instead of 7):
Are there any pre-established/strong opinions on the subject?
When asked, only two of the ten test persons stated that they first had to consider whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement (TP 01, 04). The other test persons stated that they had a firm opinion on this subject.