Comparison of methods for coping with social desirability bias in marketing research | |
| Author | Bhaumick, Ratula |
| Call Number | AIT RSPR no.SM-07-44 |
| Subject(s) | Social desirability Marketing research |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration in International Business |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | The concept of social desirability bias is not as familiar in marketing research as it is in other social sciences and psychology. However, this trend is slowing changing with the growing concern about the effects of social desirability bias in marketing research. Social desirability bias is the tendency of the respondent to present oneself as per the social norms. It leads to over-reporting of desirable behavior and underreporting of undesirable behavior which reduces the validity and reliability of the research. Studies have identified different ways of coping with social desirability bias by the use of different questioning techniques and scales. Some of the techniques commonly used are direct questioning, indirect questioning, face-saving technique, bogus pipeline, randomized response technique and so on. In the present study, three techniques are compared to identify the best method for reducing social desirability bias. Two sets of questionnaires were prepared using these three methods. The questionnaires were administered on 109 students selected by the method of simple random sampling. The techniques used in this study are 1) direct questioning, the respondent is asked in a straight forward way to give his or her opinion, 2) Indirect questioning is a projective technique that asks respondents to answer structured questions from the perspective of another person or group, 3) Face saving technique involves manipulating the wording of the question. The result from the study indicates that the method of indirect questioning is successful in coping with Social desirability bias as compared to other methods. |
| Year | 2007 |
| Type | Research Study Project Report (RSPR) |
| School | School of Management (SOM) |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Master of Business Administration (MBA) (Publication code=SM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Beise-Zee, Rian; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Zimmermann, Willi;Donyaprueth Krairit; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | AIT Fellowship |
| Degree | Research Studies Project Report (M.B.A.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2007 |