Improving the quality of survey data documentation: A total survey error perspective

Abstract

Surveys are a common method in the social and behavioral sciences to collect data on attitudes, personality and social behavior. Methodological reports should provide researchers with a complete and comprehensive overview of the design, collection and statistical processing of the survey data that are to be analyzed. As an important aspect of open science practices, they should enable secondary users to assess the quality and the analytical potential of the data. In the present article, we propose guidelines for the documentation of survey data that are based on the total survey error approach. Considering these guidelines, we conclude that both scientists and data-holding institutions should become more sensitive to the quality of survey data documentation.