Questionnaire design decisions when transitioning from an interviewer-administered to a self-administered online mode (Version 1.0)

Large-scale surveys are increasingly moving from (face-to-face or telephone-based) interviewer-administered to self-administered online modes. To ensure high measurement quality and maximum comparability and equivalence between the source questionnaire and its adaptation - across modes as well as across survey waves - various aspects of question design must be considered and several decisions need to be made concerning question presentation and wording. This survey guideline summarizes good practices on how to transition questionnaires from interviewer- to self-administered web surveys and gives recommendations and examples for major adaptation issues as well as general questionnaire design elements relevant to web surveys. In this context, we focus on the switch from an interviewer-based to an online mode (although mixed-mode designs are also conceivable).Groß angelegte Studien werden zunehmend von interviewerbasierten (persönlichen oder telefonischen) Befragungen auf selbstverwaltete Onlineerhebungen umgestellt. Um eine hohe Datenqualität und ein Höchstmaß an Vergleichbarkeit und Äquivalenz zwischen dem Ausgangsfragebogen und seiner Adaptation - sowohl über verschiedenen Modi als auch Erhebungswellen hinwe - zu gewährleisten, müssen verschiedene Aspekte des Fragebogendesigns berücksichtigt und eine Reihe von Entscheidungen in Bezug auf die Präsentation und Formulierung von Fragen getroffen werden. Dieser Erhebungsleitfaden fasst bewährte Methoden zur Umwandlung der Fragebögen von interviewgestützten zu selbstgestützten Onlineerhebungen zusammen und gibt Empfehlungen und Beispiele für wichtige Anpassungsfragen sowie zu allgemeinen Gestaltungselementen von Fragebögen, die für Onlineumfragen relevant sind. In diesem Zusammenhang konzentrieren wir uns auf den Wechsel von einem interviewergestützten zu einem Onlinemodus (obwohl auch gemischte Modi denkbar sind)

The impulsive behavior short scale-8 (I-8): A comprehensive validation of the English-language adaptation

The Impulsive Behavior Short Scale-8 (I-8) measures the psychological construct of impulsivity with four subscales comprising two items each (completion time < 1 min). The aim of the present study was threefold: (1) to assess the psychometric properties (objectivity, reliability, and validity) of the English-language I-8; (2) to compare these psychometric properties with those of the original German-language source version of the scale; and (3) to test the cross-national comparability of the scale via measurement invariance tests. For this purpose, we used heterogeneous quota samples from the UK and Germany. Our results indicate that I-8 is a reliable and valid short scale with highly comparable psychometric properties across both language versions. In addition, I-8 showed a highly similar correlational pattern with various extraneous variables across the two nations. Furthermore, partial scalar invariance and full invariance of residual variances held, allowing the comparison of latent means and observed (co)variances across nations. I-8 lends itself as a measure of impulsive behavior especially in surveys in which assessment time is limited, such as in large-scale cross-national surveys. - The dataset supporting the conclusions of this article is available in the GESIS SowiDataNet/ datorium repository, https://doi.org/10.7802/2097

An English-language adaptation and validation of the Political Efficacy Short Scale (PESS)

The Political Efficacy Short Scale (PESS) is the English-language adaptation of the German-language Political Efficacy Kurzskala (PEKS); it measures perceived political efficacy with four items. PESS comprises two subscales - internal and external political efficacy - with two items each. Internal political efficacy refers to the belief in one’s own political effectiveness; external political efficacy refers to the belief in the responsiveness of the political system to citizens' concerns. Completion time for all four items is less than 30 s. The items of the German-language source version were translated into English using the TRAPD approach. The present study empirically validated the English-language adaptation (PESS) based on a heterogeneous quota sample in the UK. The results show that the reliability and validity coefficients of the English-language adaptation are sufficiently high and that they are comparable to those of the German-language source version. In addition, the scale showed strict measurement invariance (i.e., equal loadings, intercepts, and uniquenesses) when comparing the UK and Germany, which indicates the comparability of manifest scale scores (means and variances) and correlations across the two nations. As a short scale, PESS lends itself particularly to the measurement of political efficacy in survey contexts in which assessment time or questionnaire space is limited. It is applicable in a variety of research disciplines, including political science, sociology, psychology, and economics

An English-language adaptation of the Interpersonal Trust Short Scale (KUSIV3)

The Interpersonal Trust Short Scale - the English-language adaptation of the Kurzskala Interpersonelles Vertrauen (KUSIV3) - measures interpersonal trust as a psychological disposition with just three items (completion time ~ 30 s). The items of the German-language source version were translated into English using the TRAPD approach. Our empirical validation based on a heterogeneous quota sample in the UK shows that all the reliability coefficients of the English-language adaptation and its correlations with external variables are satisfactory and comparable to those of the German-language source version. Moreover, the results of measurement invariance testing suggest that metric measurement invariance of the scale holds when comparing the UK and Germany, implying the comparability of correlations based on the latent factors across the two nations. As an ultra-short scale, KUSIV3 lends itself to the assessment of interpersonal trust particularly in survey contexts in which assessment time or questionnaire space are limited. It is applicable in a variety of research disciplines, including psychology, sociology, and economics

"You can't always get what you want": Prevalence, magnitude, and predictors of the aspiration–attainment gap after the school-to-work transition

This study examined the prevalence, magnitude, and predictors of the aspiration-attainment gap (AAG) after the school-to-work transition. We operationalized the AAG as the discrepancy between the socioeconomic status (SES) of young people’s realistic occupational aspirations and that of the position they actually attained. As a case in point, we investigated non-college-bound students transitioning into a vocational education and training (VET) position in Germany. Our aims were twofold: first, to establish how many students experience an AAG of what size; second, to identify characteristics that predict whether students experience an AAG. We considered sociostructural characteristics, cognitive ability and school grades, and Big Five personality traits as predictors (i.e., potential determinants) of the AAG. Analyses in a representative sample (N = 2,478) of intermediate secondary school (Realschule) students/graduates from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS; Starting Cohort 4) revealed that 45.9% of students experienced an AAG. Two-part regression models showed that the level of aspirations was the strongest predictor of the experience and size of an AAG, followed by school grades. Aspirations also mediated the effects of several other predictors, most importantly parental SES and school grades. Parental SES, female gender, and Emotional Stability had contradictory effects: They indirectly increased the risk of experiencing an AAG by raising aspirations, but at the same time they lowered this risk by directly increasing attainment. Overall, our results suggest that the AAG during the transition from school to VET is a widespread experience among students in Germany that is worthy of further investigation.Die Autor*innen untersuchten die Prävalenz, Größe und Prädiktoren der Aspiration-Attainment-Gap (AAG) im sozialen Status unter Realschulabsolventen nach dem Übergang der Schule in die Berufsausbildung in Deutschland. Die AAG misst die Fähigkeit, Berufsaspirationen zu realisieren. Die zentralen Erkenntnisse lauten: (1) Die AAG ist ein weit verbreitetes Phänomen: Knapp die Hälfte der Stichprobe erlebte eine AAG unterschiedlichen Ausmaßes in dem Sinne, dass sie ein berufliches Attainment mit einem niedrigeren sozialen Status als dem ihrer Aspirationen erreichten. (2) Die Höhe der Aspirationen war der wichtigste Prädiktor für ein höheres Risiko einer AAG. Diejenigen, die ihre Ziele hoch setzen, können weit zurückfallen. Dabei handelte es sich meist um Schulabgänger aus privilegierten Verhältnissen (d.h. mit einem höheren Bildungsniveau sowie höheren familiären und individuellen Ressourcen). (3) Interessanterweise sagte dieselbe Gruppe von Merkmalen aus privilegierten Verhältnissen auch ein geringeres Risiko für eine AAG voraus, unabhängig von der Höhe der Aspirationen, indem sie die Ressourcen bereitstellen, die zur Erreichung höherer Aspirationen erforderlich sind. Da die AAG mit negativen Folgen, insbesondere für das Wohlbefinden und die Motivation, einhergeht, ist es wichtig, geeignete Maßnahmen zu ergreifen, um Jugendlichen dabei zu helfen, sich realistische Ziele zu setzen und diese unabhängig von ihrer Ressourcenausstattung zu verfolgen

Big Five Personality Traits Predict Successful Transitions From School to Vocational Education and Training: A Large-Scale Study

Educational transitions play a pivotal role in shaping educational careers, and ultimately social inequality. Whereas parental socioeconomic status (SES) and cognitive ability have long been identified as key determinants of successful educational transitions, much less is known about the role of socio-emotional skills. To address this gap, the present study investigated whether Big Five personality traits predict success in the transition from secondary school to vocational education and training (VET) above and beyond SES, cognitive ability, and other covariates. Using data from Starting Cohort 4 of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS; N = 4,137), we defined seven indicators of successful transition: obtaining a VET position, number of acceptances for VET positions, starting a VET position, (the absence of) dropout intentions and actual dropout, final VET grade, and satisfaction with VET. The results revealed that some Big Five traits were incrementally associated with several indicators of transition success. Conscientiousness emerged as the single most relevant trait, predicting all the transition success indicators but 1 (dropout intentions). The other Big Five traits had much weaker and less consistent links with transition success. Extraversion predicted the final VET grade and obtaining a VET position; Agreeableness was linked to a higher risk of dropout. Openness and Emotional Stability had no incremental effects on transition success. There was also some evidence for both compensatory and synergistic interactive effects, with Openness moderating mainly the effects of parental SES (on dropout intentions, actual dropout, and number of acceptances), and Agreeableness moderating the effects of cognitive ability (on obtaining a VET position, number of acceptances, and satisfaction with VET). Although individual effect sizes were small, the Big Five’s joint contribution to transition success was non-negligible, and often larger than that of sociodemographic characteristics and cognitive ability. Our results suggest a hitherto underappreciated contribution of personality to successful transitions to VET

Justice Evaluation of the Income Distribution (JEID): Development and validation of a short scale for the subjective assessment of objective differences in earnings

Justice evaluations are proposed to provide a link between the objective level of inequality and the consequences at the individual and societal level. Available instruments, however, focus on the subjective perception of inequality and income distributions. In light of findings that subjective perceptions of inequality and income levels can be biased and subject to method effects, we present the newly developed Justice Evaluation of the Income Distribution (JEID) Scale, which captures justice evaluations of the actual earnings distribution. JEID comprises five items that provide respondents with earnings information for five groups at different segments along the distribution of earnings in a given country. We provide a German-language and an English-language version of the scale. The German-language version was developed and validated based on three comprehensive heterogeneous quota samples from Germany; the translated English-language version was validated in one comprehensive heterogeneous quota sample from the UK. Using latent profile analysis and k-means clustering, we identified three typical response patterns, which we labeled “inequality averse,” “bottom-inequality averse,” and “status quo justification.” JEID was found to be related to normative orientations in the sense that egalitarian views were associated with stronger injustice evaluations at the bottom and top ends of the earnings distribution. With a completion time of between 1.50 and 2.75 min, the JEID scale can be applied in any self-report survey in the social sciences to investigate the distribution, precursors, and consequences of individuals’ subjective evaluations of objective differences in earnings

The Internal-External Locus of Control Short Scale-4 (IE-4): A comprehensive validation of the English-language adaptation

The Internal-External Locus of Control Short Scale-4 (IE-4) measures two dimensions of the personality trait locus of control with two items each. IE-4 was originally developed and validated in German and later translated into English. In the present study, we assessed the psychometric properties (i.e., objectivity, reliability, validity) of the English-language IE-4, compared these psychometric properties with those of the German-language source version, and tested measurement invariance across both language versions. Using heterogeneous quota samples from the UK and Germany, we find that the English-language adaptation has satisfactory reliability and plausible correlations with 11 external variables (e.g., general self-efficacy, self-esteem, impulsive behavior, Emotional Stability), which are comparable with those of the German-language source version. Moreover, metric measurement invariance of the scale holds when comparing the UK and Germany, implying the comparability of correlations based on the latent factors across the two nations. As an ultra-short scale (completion time < 30 s), IE-4 lends itself particularly to the assessment of locus of control in survey contexts in which assessment time or questionnaire space are limited. It can be applied in a variety of research disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, or economics. - The dataset supporting the conclusions of this article is available in the GESIS SowiDataNet/ datorium repository, https://doi.org/10.7802/2095

The Optimism-Pessimism Short Scale-2 (SOP2): a comprehensive validation of the English-language adaptation

The Optimism-Pessimism Short Scale-2 (SOP2) described in this article measures the psychological disposition of optimism with two items. SOP2 is the English-language adaptation of an originally for the German language developed scale. Because an empirical validation of this English-language SOP2 was hitherto lacking, the aim of the present study was to assess the psychometric properties (objectivity, reliability, validity) of the English-language adaptation and to investigate measurement invariance across both language versions using heterogeneous quota samples from the UK and Germany. Our results show that the English-language adaptation has satisfactory reliability coefficients and is correlated with 10 external variables in the study (e.g., self-esteem, Emotional Stability, life satisfaction). Moreover, scalar measurement invariance of the scale holds when comparing the UK and Germany, implying the comparability of latent (co)variances and latent means across the two nations. As an ultra-short scale with a completion time of < 20 s, SOP2 lends itself particularly to the assessment of dispositional optimism in survey contexts in which assessment time or questionnaire space are limited. It can be applied in a variety of research disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, or economics