Improving survey research on the World-Wide Web using the randomized response technique

Abstract

Conducting a survey is one of the most frequently used methods for data collection in the social sciences.Because of several possible sources of response bias (Paulhus, 1991), it is far from clear whether the results of a survey can always be taken at face value, however.If, for example, a respondent has a socially undesirable attitude or if he has engaged in a socially undesirable behavior, he may face a conflict between a desire to conform to the definition of good respondent behavior, which says that one should tell the truth, and a desire to appear to be in the socially desirable category.It is frequently assumed that at least some respondents resolve this conflict by biasing their answer in the direction of social desirability (Sudman & Bradburn, 1974).If online surveys are conducted to investigate topics such as the viewing of sexually explicit material, software pirating, breaking the security barriers of other people's computer systems, or credit card fraud, it is unrealistic to assume that respondents who have observed or were engaged in the respective activities will report them truthfully.Rather, considerable discrepancies between actual and reported behavior can be expected.This is particularly true for behavior that is illegal or prohibited.Tax evasion is a typical example.The system of taxation was initially devised as a means of promoting public welfare, providing necessary services, and redistributing wealth.However, there are obviously large incentives for an individual taxpayer to reduce his or her required tax payment.This is because tax systems constitute a classical social dilemma situation of public benefits based on private cost.Accordingly, evasion of policy prescribed taxes has been a problem ever since their introduction.The term "tax evasion" refers to the deliberate act of noncompliance that results in the payment of less tax than actually owed.In the context of this chapter, tax evasion excludes inadvertent noncompliance resulting from memory lapses, calculation errors, and inadequate knowledge of tax laws.