Using the Unmatched Count Technique (Uct) to Estimate Base Rates for Sensitive Behavior

Dalton, Dan R.; Wimbush, James C.; Daily, Catherine M.

doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.1994.tb01578.x

Cited by 100 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Thus, because there was no direct link between a participant and which items she endorsed, there was no way to determine if any individual participant endorsed any particular critical item. Previous studies have found that the UCT procedure yields significantly different rates of endorsement as compared to conventional questionnaires on a variety of sensitive topics, including employee theft, 17,18 risky sexual behaviors when under the influence of alcohol, 15 antigay hate crime perpetration, 19 and crime victimization. 16 …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of response format on endorsement of eating disordered attitudes and behaviors

Anderson

Simmons

Milnes

et al. 2006

Intl J Eating Disorders

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Objective: The present study was designed to compare response rates on a standard self-report questionnaire that was nominally anonymous to an unmatched count questionnaire that allowed for true anonymity in responding.Method: Four hundred and fifty-four college students were asked about several topics, including attitudes towards weight and shape, dieting, and eating disordered behavior using one of two response formats; either a standard questionnaire in true-false format or an unmatched count questionnaire that did not require participants to directly answer sensitive questions.Results: Both males and females had significantly different rates of endorsement between the two methods of assessment on the majority of the eating-related questions.Conclusion: Response format and degree of anonymity affect endorsement of eating-related thoughts and behaviors. Understanding response bias is critical to determining accurate rates of eating disordered thoughts and behaviors. V

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of response format on endorsement of eating disordered attitudes and behaviors

Anderson

Simmons

Milnes

et al. 2006

Intl J Eating Disorders

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“…For both samples, we indirectly inferred atheism rates using the unmatched count technique (e.g., Dalton, Wimbush, & Daily, 1994;Raghavarao & Federer, 1979), a tool for inferring base rates of socially sensitive outcomes. The unmatched count technique indirectly infers underlying base rates for socially undesirable or unacceptable outcomes by randomly assigning participants to one of two versions of a count task.…”

Section: General Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Many Atheists Are There?

Gervais

Najle

2017

Social Psychological and Personality Science

157

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One crucible for theories of religion is their ability to predict and explain patterns of belief and disbelief. Yet, religious nonbelief is often heavily stigmatized, potentially leading many atheists to refrain from outing themselves even in anonymous polls. We used the unmatched count technique and Bayesian estimation to indirectly estimate atheist prevalence in two nationally representative samples of 2000 U.S. adults apiece.Widely-cited telephone polls (e.g., Gallup, Pew) suggest USA atheist prevalence of only 3-11%. In contrast, our most credible indirect estimate is 26% (albeit with considerable estimate and method uncertainty). Our data and model predict that atheist prevalence exceeds 11% with greater than .99 probability, and exceeds 20% with roughly .8 probability. Prevalence estimates of 11% were even less credible than estimates of 40%, and all intermediate estimates were more credible. Some popular theoretical approaches to religious cognition may require heavy revision to accommodate actual levels of religious disbelief.Keywords: religion; atheism; social desirability; stigma; Bayesian estimation How many atheists are there? 3 How many atheists are there?I am, and I wish I weren't. Aldous Huxley, Brave New WorldReligion is a core aspect of human nature, yet a comprehensive understanding of religion must also accommodate religious disbelief. Various models seek to explain commonalities in religious cognition (e.g., Boyer, 2008) and the possible adaptive benefits of religious beliefs and practices (e.g., Norenzayan et al., 2014). These models have advanced the naturalistic science of religion, one key challenge in interdisciplinary, consilient approaches to human nature (Wilson, 1999). The scientific success of theories of religion partially hinges on the degree to which they successfully predict and explain the distribution of belief and disbelief. The study of atheists-merely people who disbelieve or lack belief in the existence of God or gods 1 -is thus a central testing ground for basic theory on the origins of religious and supernatural beliefs (Norenzayan & Gervais, 2013). Unfortunately, unbiased answers to some of the most elementary questions regarding belief and disbelief are currently unavailable. Such basic questions as: How many atheists are there?1 As a terminological aside, throughout this paper we use the term "atheist" to refer to people who disbelieve or lack belief in the existence of a god or gods. This definition is standard in the psychology, sociology, and philosophy of religion. Furthermore, it is the definition of "atheist" adopted by the Oxford English Dictionary. Operationally, we thus define people as atheists if they do not indicate belief in a god or gods. We focused on binary classification of atheists not because we necessarily view religious belief as a psychologically binary phenomenon, but rather for direct comparability with existing polling data utilizing binary measurements of this complex construct.How many atheists are there? 4Existing global atheism est...

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“…der ICT im Vergleich zu direkten Befragungen zu hçheren und damit valideren Schätzun-gen von illegalen, stigmatisierenden oder sozial unerwünschten Verhaltensweisen oder Einstellungen führt (Weissman et al 1986;Dalton et al 1994;Kuklinski et al 1997;Wimbush & Dalton 1997 Die Stichprobe der ICT-Studie wurde über die ADM-Telefonstichprobe "Easy Sample" ausgewählt (Häder & Gabler 1998 Unauthenticated Download Date | 5/12/18 10:31 PM konsistent die erwarteten hçheren Prävalenzen beobachtet werden kçnnen. Angesichts dieser Ergebnisse stellt sich die Frage, warum in den Experimentalkonditionen in manchen Fällen die erwarteten hçheren Prävalenzen beobachtet werden und in anderen nicht.…”

Section: Bisherige Empirische Evidenz Zur Ict Und Rrtunclassified

Messung und Erklärung von Schwarzarbeit in Deutschland – Eine empirische Befragungsstudie unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Problems der sozialen Erwünschtheit / Measuring and Explaining Undeclared Work in Germany – An Empirical Survey with a Special Focus on Social Desirability Bias

Kirchner

Krumpal

Trappmann

et al. 2013

Zeitschrift Für Soziologie

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Zusammenfassung: Der vorliegende Beitrag geht der Frage nach, wie das Ausmaß von Schwarzarbeit in Deutschland imRahmen von Befragungen der allgemeinen Bevçlkerung mçglichst valide geschätzt werden kann. In einem experimentellen Design wird die konventionelle direkte Befragungstechnik mit zwei Spezialtechniken, der Randomized-ResponseTechnik (RRT) und der Item-Count-Technik (ICT), verglichen. Die RRT und die ICT wurden für die Messung besonders heikler Verhaltensweisen entwickelt und sollen durch eine Erhçhung der Anonymität in der Interviewsituation sozial erwünschtes Antwortverhalten reduzieren. Unsere Befunde zeigen, dass die häufig angenommene Wirkung der beiden Spezialtechniken auf die Bereitschaft der Befragten, sozial unerwünschtes Verhalten zu berichten, nicht eindeutig ausfällt. Zudem werden theoretisch bedeutsame Einflussfaktoren von Schwarzarbeit diskutiert und deren Wirkung im Rahmen von multiplen Regressionsanalysen empirisch überprüft. Neben Gelegenheitsstrukturen sind vor allem soziale Normen gute Prädiktoren für die individuelle Entscheidung schwarzzuarbeiten.Schlagworte: Schwarzarbeit; Schattenwirtschaft; Heikle Fragen; Soziale Erwünschtheit; Randomized-Response-Technik; Item-Count-Technik.Summary: This article explores methods used to obtain a higher validity in estimates of the prevalence of undeclared work in Germany in surveys within the general population. Using an experimental design two "dejeopardizing" techniques are compared as alternatives to direct questioning when asking sensitive questions: the randomized response technique (RRT) and the item count technique (ICT). These techniques were specifically developed to reduce misreporting on sensitive topics: The goal is to elicit a higher proportion of honest answers from respondents by increasing the anonymity of the question-and-answer process. Our results suggest that neither RRT nor ICT provide unambiguous results with respect to more successful elicitation of reports of socially undesirable behavior. In addition, the theoretically significant influence of background variables is investigated empirically by means of multiple regression. Factors which foster illicit work are, aside from opportunity structures, social norms, which contribute significantly to the explanation of individual decisions to engage in undeclared work.

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Using the Unmatched Count Technique (Uct) to Estimate Base Rates for Sensitive Behavior

Cited by 100 publications

References 13 publications

Effect of response format on endorsement of eating disordered attitudes and behaviors

Effect of response format on endorsement of eating disordered attitudes and behaviors

How Many Atheists Are There?

Messung und Erklärung von Schwarzarbeit in Deutschland – Eine empirische Befragungsstudie unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Problems der sozialen Erwünschtheit / Measuring and Explaining Undeclared Work in Germany – An Empirical Survey with a Special Focus on Social Desirability Bias

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