Ed Psych Student Weicong Lyu Explores How Response Anchoring Can Detect Low Effort Completing Surveys

weicong headshot
Weicong Lyu

All researchers know that the ability to conduct good research depends on trustworthy data. For self-report rating scale data, a frequent concern is lack of respondent effort, or careless responding. If pervasive, this quickly leads to compromised research findings. Computer-based assessment has introduced new opportunities for monitoring respondent effort. It also could lead to interventions when low effort is detected.

Quantitative Methods student Weicong Lyu has been studying one source of such evidence, known as anchoring behavior—the tendency of respondents to choose rating categories close by their response to the previous item. He presents a psychometric model for measuring such behavior in an article recently published with co-author Dan Bolt, Quantitative Methods Professor, in the British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology. He also proposes ways of studying the relation of anchoring behavior to other documented evidence of reduced respondent effort, such as overly fast response times and the adoption of response styles.

You can find the results of his work here: https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bmsp.12251