Abstract:

The PaCo project addresses panel conditioning effects (PCE), that is, changes in actual behavior, attitudes, or knowledge, or changes in response behavior as a result of previous survey participation.
The subject of this pretest are questions on reflection, social desirability, and motivation, which were newly developed and collected for the first time in the GESIS Panel.
The questions were tested by means of telephone cognitive interviews.

*Note: The items were tested in German. The items docemented here are English translations of the original German wordings.*

Citation:

Lenzner, T., Nießen, D., Hadler, P., Steins, P., Quint, F., & Neuert, C. (2020): PaCo - Mechanisms of panel conditioning in longitudinal surveys: Questions on social desirability, gender roles, and environment (English Version). Cognitive Pretest. GESIS Project Reports. Version: 1.0. GESIS - Pretestlab. Text.

DOI:

http://doi.org/10.17173/pretest104

Question No.	Pretesting Results	Type	Construct	Question documented in ZIS
1	To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement? [Inwieweit stimmen Sie der folgenden Aussage zu oder nicht zu?] A full-time job is the best way for a woman to be financially independent. [Eine Vollzeitbeschäftigung ist der beste Weg für eine Frau, finanziell unabhängig zu sein.]	Single Question	Gender roles	No
2	The previous question was about whether full-time employment is the best way for a woman to be financially independent. Do you have a clear opinion on this or are you rather unsure of your opinion on this topic? [Bei der vorherigen Frage ging es darum, ob eine Vollzeitbeschäftigung der beste Weg für eine Frau ist, finanziell unabhängig zu sein. Haben Sie dazu eine eindeutige Meinung oder sind Sie sich Ihrer Meinung zu diesem Thema eher unsicher?]	Single Question	Response confidence	No
3	To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement? [Inwieweit stimmen Sie der folgenden Aussage zu oder nicht zu?] All in all, family life suffers when the wife works full time. [Alles in allem leidet das Familienleben, wenn die Frau in Vollzeit berufstätig ist.]	Single Question	Compatibility of family and career
4	The previous question was about whether family life suffers when the wife works full-time. How likely is it that you will change your mind on this issue in the future? [Bei der vorherigen Frage ging es darum, ob das Familienleben darunter leidet, wenn die Frau in Vollzeit berufstätig ist. Wie wahrscheinlich ist es, dass Sie Ihre Meinung zu diesem Thema zukünftig ändern werden?]	Single Question	Attitude strength	No
5	How often do you throw smaller trash on the ground, in manhole covers, or flower beds when you don't see a trash can right now? [Wie häufig werfen Sie kleinere Abfälle auf den Boden, in Kanaldeckel oder Blumenbeete, wenn Sie gerade keinen Abfalleimer sehen?]	Single Question	Environmental behavior
6	Would you be willing to pay more money for drinking water if it financed measures against drinking water pollution? [Wären Sie bereit, mehr Geld für Trinkwasser zu bezahlen, wenn damit Maßnahmen gegen die Trinkwasserverschmutzung finanziert werden würden?]	Single Question	Environmental behavior: Intention
7	Which mode of transport do you think consumes the most energy on average per person and per km? [Was glauben Sie, welches Verkehrsmittel verbraucht durchschnittlich pro Person und pro km am meisten Energie?]	Single Question	Environmental knowledge: Energy per transport vehicle
8	And what do you think consumes the most energy in a private household? [Und wofür wird Ihrer Meinung nach in einem privaten Haushalt die meiste Energie verbraucht?]	Single Question	Environmental knowledge: Energy in the private household
9	What does the environmental protection label of the Umweltbund look like? [Wie sieht das Umweltschutzzeichen des Umweltbundes aus?]	Single Question	Environmental knowledge: Environmental protection sign
10	How often have you used the Internet in the last 14 days to find out about political events? [Wie häufig haben Sie in den letzten 14 Tagen das Internet genutzt, um sich über das politische Geschehen zu informieren?]	Single Question	Internet use for obtaining information	No
11	How often have you viewed pornographic content in the last 14 days? [Wie häufig haben Sie sich in den letzten 14 Tagen pornografische Inhalte angesehen?]	Single Question	Sexual behavior	No
12	Have you purchased any cleaning products for your home in the last 4 weeks? [Haben Sie in den letzten 4 Wochen Reinigungsmittel für Ihr Zuhause gekauft?]	Single Question	Consumption of cleaning agents	No
13	Have you ever stolen something from a store or something that does not belong to you worth less than 50 euros? [Haben Sie jemals etwas aus einem Laden oder etwas, das Ihnen nicht gehört, im Wert von weniger als 50 Euro gestohlen?]	Single Question	Illegal/criminal behavior	No
14	For the following characteristics, please indicate how embarrassing it would be for a person to reveal them in public. It is not a question of how you personally judge these characteristics, but what one can and cannot admit publicly. [Bitte geben Sie für die folgenden Merkmale an, wie peinlich es für eine Person wäre, diese in der Öffentlichkeit zu offenbaren. Es geht nicht darum, wie Sie diese Merkmale persönlich beurteilen, sondern was man öffentlich zugeben kann und was nicht.] How embarrassing it would be for a person to reveal that... [Wie peinlich wäre es für eine Person zu offenbaren, dass...]	Multi-Item Scale	Social desirability	No
15	How likely is it that you would consent to such use of your information in the following services? [Wie wahrscheinlich ist es, dass Sie Ihr Einverständnis für eine derartige Nutzung Ihrer Daten bei den folgenden Diensten geben würden?]	Multi-Item Scale	Willingness to share social media data	No
16	Would you agree to share your Apple or Samsung Health data with us so that we can link it to your questionnaire information for scientific purposes? [Wären Sie damit einverstanden, Ihre Apple- oder Samsung-Health-Daten mit uns zu teilen, damit wir diese mit Ihren Angaben aus dem Fragebogen für wissenschaftliche Zwecke ver- knüpfen können?]	Single Question	Willingness to share smartphone data	No

Number of Participants:

Selection of Target Population/Quotas:

Quota sampling based on gender (m/f), age (18-45, 46+), and education (with/without university entrance qualification) = 2 x 2 x 2 groups.

Test Date:

03/2020

Number of cognitive interviewers:

Pretests conducted in the lab (video-recorded):

Pretests conducted via phone or externally (audio-recorded):

Survey mode:

CAWI

Pretest mode:

CATI

Procedure:

The cognitive interviews were conducted by phone. The test subjects were asked to have a computer with Internet access ready for the interview. The link to the online questionnaire to be tested was sent to the test subjects by e-mail at the beginning of the cognitive interview. The test subjects initially answered the online questionnaire independently on the computer and informed the test administrator of their respective answers. After completion of the questionnaire, the cognitive follow-up questions to the questions were asked (retrospective probing), whereby the test subjects could follow the individual questions to be tested as well as their answers on the computer screen.

Incentive for respondents:

30 Euro

Project Description:

The PaCo project addresses panel conditioning effects (PCE), that is, changes in actual behavior, attitudes, or knowledge, or changes in response behavior resulting from previous survey participation. These threaten the most important goals of longitudinal research, namely the reliable measurement of stability and change. In experimental studies, PaCo investigates the mechanisms of PCE and proposes means to reduce measurement error due to PCE.

Website:

https://www.gesis.org/forschung/drittmittelprojekte/projektuebersicht-drittmittel/paco

Client:

GESIS

Dr. Henning Silber und Fabienne Krämer

Pretest Report (English):

Interview protocol (German):

Citation: Lenzner, T., Nießen, D., Hadler, P., Steins, P., Quint, F., & Neuert, C. (2020): PaCo - Mechanisms of panel conditioning in longitudinal surveys: Questions on social desirability, gender roles, and environment (English Version). Cognitive Pretest. GESIS Project Reports. Version: 1.0. GESIS - Pretestlab. Text.

PaCo - Mechanisms of panel conditioning in longitudinal surveys: Questions on social desirability, gender roles, and environment (English Version) - Cognitive Pretest