Cognitive load reduction strategies in questionnaire design
Kylie Brosnan, Bettina Grün, Sara Dolničar
Abstract
Survey data quality suffers when respondents have difficulty completing complex tasks in questionnaires. Cognitive load theory informed the development of strategies for educators to reduce the cognitive load of learning tasks. We investigate whether these cognitive load reduction strategies can be used in questionnaire design to reduce task difficulty and, in so doing, improve survey data quality. We find that this is not the case and conclude that some of the traditional survey answer formats, such as grid questions, which have been criticized in the past lead to equally good data and do not frustrate respondents more than alternative formats.
Topics & Concepts
Cognitive loadTask (project management)CognitionQuality (philosophy)Reduction (mathematics)Survey data collectionComputer scienceApplied psychologyQuestionnairePsychologyCognitive psychologyEconomicsManagementGeometrySociologyStatisticsEpistemologyMathematicsNeurosciencePhilosophySocial scienceInformation Retrieval and Search BehaviorSurvey Methodology and NonresponseForecasting Techniques and Applications