A hypothetical questionnaire was handed out to elderly residents. The questionnaire was designed to assess the elderly's perceptions of and experiences with neighborhood crime. One of the questions was the following:
A. How many times have you been a victim of crime?
a. never
b. 1-2 times
c. 3-4 times
d. 4 or more times
B. If you have been a victim of crime, what type of crime was it?
a. theft
b. assault
c. robbery
d. motor vehicle theft
C. Do you disagree that police officers should NOT have periodic performance evaluations?
a. strongly agree
b. agree
c. disagree
d. strongly disagree
-Which guideline identifies the main problem in the response choices for Question A?
A) Make choices exhaustive.
B) Avoid negatives and double negatives.
C) Make response choices mutually exclusive.
D) Avoid fence-sitting and floating.

Question

A hypothetical questionnaire was handed out to elderly residents. The questionnaire was designed to assess the elderly's perceptions of and experiences with neighborhood crime. One of the questions was the following:
A. How many times have you been a victim of crime?
a. never
b. 1-2 times
c. 3-4 times
d. 4 or more times
B. If you have been a victim of crime, what type of crime was it?
a. theft
b. assault
c. robbery 
d. motor vehicle theft 
C. Do you disagree that police officers should NOT have periodic performance evaluations?
a. strongly agree
b. agree
c. disagree 
d. strongly disagree
-Which guideline identifies the main problem in the response choices for Question A?
A) Make choices exhaustive.
B) Avoid negatives and double negatives.
C) Make response choices mutually exclusive.
D) Avoid fence-sitting and floating.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The response choices for Question A are not mutually exclusive because the options overlap; "4 or more times" includes the range of "3-4 times," which could cause confusion for respondents who have been a victim 4 times.

A Hypothetical Questionnaire Was Handed Out to Elderly Residents