Improving surveys with paradata: analytic uses of response timeA study based on process information of China Family Dynamic Survey

This study uses paradata and survey data from the China Family Dynamic Survey to analyze the issue of response time in a questionnaire survey. The survey questions were classified into three levels and we compared the inter-group differences of response time between four kinds of questions which included information inquiries, logical calculations, intimate information and logical judgments. We used OLS method to perform a regression analysis to identify the impediments to response time and discussed the roles played by the survey locale, and the characteristics of interviewees and those of interviewers. The major impediments that prolonged response time were factors that impeded comprehension of the survey. The impediments included the difficulties interviewees had understanding questions, questions that did not take into account the different cultural backgrounds of interviewees, the complexity of questionnaires, and the performance of interviewers. Finally, this paper puts forward some suggestions for questionnaire design and investigation processes to reduce impediments to comprehension and improve the ability of interviewers.