A unified framework for characterizing response quality in surveys with multi-item scales

Self-administered surveys are widely used but the quality of the survey responses have been a major concern. Low-quality responses threaten the validity and replicability of studies. To detect potentially problematic responses, many data quality indicators have been proposed. We propose a unifying conceptual framework for response quality issues in multi-item surveys as literature is scattered and suffers from a lack of conceptual and terminological clarity. The tripartite framework makes distinction between (1) response styles, (2) insufficient effort responding, and (3) response manipulation and delineates the relationship between different response quality indicators and the response quality issue(s) they measure. The framework provides a common theoretical point of reference and unified terminology for future work on response quality. This Perspective offers a conceptual framework for response quality issues in multi-item surveys and how to handle these. It distinguishes between (1) response styles, (2) insufficient effort responding, and (3) response manipulation.