The Role of the Interviewer in Producing Mode Effects: Results from a Mixed Modes Experiment Comparing Face-to-Face, Telephone and Web Administration

The presence of an interviewer (face-to-face or via telephone) is hypothesized to motivate respondents to generate accurate answers and reduce task difficulty, but also to reduce the privacy of the reporting situation. To study this, we used respondents from an existing face-to-face probability sample of the adult general population who were randomly assigned to face-to-face, telephone and web modes of data collection. The prevalence of indicators of satisficing (e.g., non-differentiation, acquiescence, middle category choices and primacy/recency effects) and socially desirable responding were studied across modes. Results show differences between interviewer-administered modes and web in levels of satisficing (non-differentiation, and to some extent acquiescence and middle category choices) and in socially desirable responding. There was also an unexpected finding of how satisficing can differ by mode.