Social Desirability and Political Sensitivity: Interviewer Gender Effects on Men in Five Arab Countries

Abstract Survey research is growing, yet research on data quality continues to rely mainly on samples from the United States and Europe. To contribute, we test for interviewer gender effects on men in the Middle East and North Africa, where studies of data quality are particularly scarce. Theoretically, we focus on the implications of less gender-egalitarian contexts for response tendencies. For questions about politics and government, we find that men respondents tend to provide more socially desirable responses to men interviewers, offering “safer” and more pro-regime answers. Yet, for questions that touch on their own social status, such as self-reported income and religiosity, they appear to offer more socially desirable responses to women interviewers. The findings strengthen the case for comparative investigations of data quality, and highlight the value of contextual knowledge about politics and gender relations.