Fabrication of interview data
Abstract
Purpose
Evidence from past surveys suggests that some interviewees simplify their responses even in very well-organized and highly respected surveys. This paper aims to demonstrate that some interviewers, too, simplify their task by at least partly fabricating their data, and that, in some survey research institutes, employees simplify their task by fabricating entire interviews via copy and paste.
Design/methodology/approach
Using data from the principal questionnaires in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012 and the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) data, the author applies statistical methods to search for fraudulent methods used by interviewers and employees at survey research organizations.
Findings
The author provides empirical evidence for potential fraud performed by interviewers and employees of survey research organizations in several countries that participated in PISA 2012 and PIAAC.
Practical implications
The proposed methods can be used as early as the initial phase of fieldwork to flag potentially problematic interviewer behavior such as copying responses.
Originality/value
The proposed methodology may help to improve data quality in survey research by detecting fabricated data.
Keywords
Citation
Blasius, J. (2018), "Fabrication of interview data", Quality Assurance in Education, Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 213-226. https://doi.org/10.1108/QAE-06-2017-0028
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited