Mechanical Japanese: Survey satisficing of online panels in Japan

Abstract

This study focused on satisficing in online surveys-behavior in which panels do not devote an appropriate amount of attentional resources when answering questions. It carried out questionnaire surveys that could not be answered properly without closely reading the instructions and questions to empirically investigate the prevalence and patterns of satisficing. To detect satisficing tendencies, a screening survey was conducted with questions that necessitated a close reading of the instructions, while the main survey used questions that required a close reading of the item content. Identical surveys were carried out at two different survey companies, and results showed that satisficing due to skipping instructions occurs very frequently. Furthermore, while satisficing due to skipping scale items appears to be relatively rare, trends in satificing differed between the survey companies. These results indicate one method for preventing satificing, which was discussed in relation to the merits and demerits of screening respondents with satificing tendencies.