Given the considerable discrepancy between the results obtained by direct questioning and by using the randomized-response technique, we propose that this technique be considered for use in epidemiologic studies of sensitive behaviors.
Randomized response techniques (RRTs) aim to reduce social desirability bias in the assessment of sensitive attributes but differ regarding privacy protection. The less protection a design offers, the more likely respondents cheat by disobeying the instructions. In asymmetric RRT designs, respondents can play safe by giving a response that is never associated with the sensitive attribute. Symmetric RRT designs avoid the incentive to cheat by not allowing such responses. We tested whether a symmetric variant of a cheating detection model (CDM) increases compliance with the instructions in a survey of academic dishonesty among 2,254 Chinese students. As we observed more noncompliance in the asymmetric than symmetric variant, we recommend the use of symmetric CDMs, which can easily be tested within multinomial models.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.