Using examples to increase recall in self-administered questionnaires

Joan M. Phillips

Self-administered questionnaires often use examples or lists of examples to aid respondent recall. We report on the results of a field experiment examining how such examples in survey questions affect the episodic recall of events.

Consumer researchers often use examples or lists of examples in questionnaires to aid respondent recall. For instance, respondents to the U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey may better recall purchasing takeout Mexican food after having read the cue for Chinese takeout. In addition, these examples, or cues, help align the respondent's interpretation of the question with the researcher's intended objectives (Gideon, 2012; Smyth, 2016). Without such cues, respondents must devise their own inclusion criteria and may provide non-useful responses (Dashen & Fricker, 2001).

One method of enhancing recall is to provide an exhaustive list of the relevant examples or subcategories...

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