Abstract
For collecting informed public opinions a special kind of questionnaire has been developed: the Choice Questionnaire. With this questionnaire, information relating to a decision problem is made available to respondents. This information includes the various options from which a choice has to be made, and the consequences of these options. The Choice Questionnaire also contains a procedure that is designed to assist participants in processing this information and in making a choice based on it.
This paper studies the extent to which the Choice Questionnaire is a useful instrument for collecting informed opinions and the effects the instrument has on the decision-making process of the participants. The factors influencing its performance are also considered. This evaluation study has been carried out in a real life context: the choice made by the Dutch population concerning the further application of nuclear power.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Beckwith, N.E. & D.R. Lehmann (1975) The importance of halo effects in multi-attribute attitude models. Journal of Marketing Research 12: 265–275.
Bishop, Y.M.M., S.E. Fienberg, & P.W. Holland (1975) Discrete Multivariate Analysis: Theory and Practice. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press.
Converse, P.E. (1964) The nature of belief systems in mass publics. In D. Apler (ed.), Ideology and Discontent. New York: Free Press.
Edwards, W. (1977) Use of multiattribute utility measurement for social decision making. In D.E. Bell, R.L. Keeney, & H. Raiffa (eds.). Conflicting Objectives in Decisions. New York: Wiley.
Hagenaars, J.A.P. (1985) Loglineaire analyse van herhaalde surveys. Panel-, trend-, en cohortonderzoek. PhD dissertation, University of Brabant.
Keeney, R.L. & H. Raiffa (1976) Decisions with Multiple Objectives: Preferences and Value Tradeoffs. New York: Wiley.
Neijens, P. (1987) The Choice Questionnaire. Design and Evaluation of an Instrument for Collecting Informed Opinions of a Population. Amsterdam: Free University Press.
Neijens, P., J.A. de Ridder, & W.E. Saris (1988) Variation in response functions and prescription for information integration. In W.E. Saris (ed.), Variation in Response Behavior: A Source of Measurement Error in Attitude Research. Amsterdam: Sociometric Research Foundation.
Slovic, P. & D. MacPhillamy (1974) Dimensional commensurability and cue utilization in comparative judgment. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance 11: 172–194.
Verba, S. & N.H. Nie (1972) Participation in America. New York: Harper and Row.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Neijens, P., De Ridder, J.A. & Saris, W.E. An instrument for collecting informed opinions. Qual Quant 26, 245–258 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00172428
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00172428