Analysis of refusals in questionnaire-based interviews in the local community. Motives, examples and ways of approaching the problem

Abstract This article analyzes the incidence, causes, and types of refusals encountered during face-to-face survey interviews. Drawing on a long-standing body of methodological literature, the study focuses on the local level within a culturally diverse borderland community. It utilizes an original survey investigating motives for non-response, with data collected in 2024 during a fieldwork project conducted as part of an academic research camp in Poland. On a theoretical level, the article contributes to the literature on the classification of survey refusals, the conversion of attitudes among potential respondents, and the communication and persuasion strategies deployed by interviewers. It also examines the influence of socio-demographic characteristics on increasing rates of non-consent. The findings, based on a quantitative and qualitative content analysis, result in a structured typology of the observed refusal categories. Particular attention is paid to the respondents’ justifications, notably community-specific factors and anxieties stemming from a general sense of insecurity characteristic of Central and Eastern European societies.