Age Effects in Self-Reports: Answering Questions and Using Response Scales

描述（由申请人提供）：收集所有年龄段人群的自我报告调查数据对于监测人群的健康和福祉至关重要。对于某些经验，人们的自我报告是获取信息的唯一途径，例如，疼痛疲劳和生活满意度鉴于自我报告的重要性，需要尽可能精确地对其进行衡量。要获得准确和可比的自我报告，需要考虑很多因素。我们研究了几个可能因年龄而异的因素，并影响受访者对调查问题的解释和他们使用的反应量表。这些因素可能导致对衰老和健康的错误结论。一系列的五项研究，利用一系列的研究技术，从实验室为基础的方法重复，实时数据收集到互联网面板调查，提出。他们将检查年龄特定的影响（1）在参考框架（人们在评分时使用的比较标准），（2）在先前问题对回答的影响（背景效应），（3）在回忆期对回答的影响（其中较长的回忆期可能与更多的偏见有关），以及（4）在使用反应量表（例如，避免极端反应）。最后一项研究将在前人研究结果的基础上，探讨改进自我报告测量的方法。总的来说，这个应用程序的目的是确定可能阻碍我们理解与年龄相关的健康和福祉差异的因素，并制定减轻这些问题的方法。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The collection of self-reported survey data for people of all ages is central for monitoring the health and wellbeing of the population. For some experiences, people's self-reports are the only way to acquire the information, e.g., pain, fatigue, and life satisfaction. Given the importance of self-reports, they need to be measured as precisely as possible. There are many considerations for obtaining accurate and comparable self-reports. We examine several factors that are likely to vary by age and influence respondents' interpretations of survey questions and their use of response scales. Such factors could lead to erroneous conclusions about aging and health. A series of five studies, utilizing a range of research techniques from laboratory-based methods to repeated, real-time data collection to Internet panel surveys, is proposed. They will examine age-specific effects (1) in frame-of-reference (the comparison standards people use in making ratings), (2) in the impact of prior questions on responses (context effects), (3) in the effect of recall period on responses (where longer recall periods may be associated with more bias), and (4) in the use of response scales (e.g., tendency to avoid extreme responses). Based on the results of prior studies, the last study will explore ways to improve self- report measurement. Overall, the aim of this application is to identify factors that could impede our ability to understand age-related differences in health and wellbeing, and to develop ways to mitigate those problems.