Straightlining in Web survey panels over time

Abstract

Straightlining, an indicator of satisficing, refers to giving the same answer in a series of questions arranged on a grid. We investigated whether straightlining changes with respondents’ panel experience in the LISS panel in the Netherlands. Specifically, we considered straightlining on 10 grid questions in LISS core modules (7 waves) and on a grid of evaluation questions in the LISS panel (150+ waves). For both core modules and evaluation questions we found that straightlining increases with respondents’ panel experience for at least three years. Straightlining is also associated with younger age. Where straightlining corresponded to a plausible set of answers, prevalence of straightlining was much larger (15-40%) than where straightlining was implausible (