Which of the following strategies best works to reduce the impact of social desirability bias on survey responses?
A) Inserting an item that requests participants to select "Strong disagree" for that particular item.
B) Asking participants to promise that they would answer each survey item honestly.
C) Discarding the survey data of participants who do not complete the survey.
D) Asking about controversial issues subtly by framing all responses as normal behavior.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Asking about controversial issues subtly by framing all responses as normal behavior can help to reduce the impact of social desirability bias on survey responses. Participants may be more likely to answer honestly if they believe their responses will be viewed as normal or typical. The other options do not necessarily address the issue of social desirability bias directly. Inserting an item that requests participants to select "Strong disagree" may not be effective if participants still feel pressure to appear agreeable in other parts of the survey. Asking participants to promise to answer honestly may not be effective as people may not want to admit to dishonesty. Discarding survey data could lead to biased results if participants who do not complete the survey systematically differ from those who do complete it.

Which of the Following Strategies Best Works to Reduce the Impact