Problems and pitfalls of retrospective survey questions in COVID-19 studies

Authors

  • Lena Hipp WZB Berlin Social Science Center, University of Potsdam
  • Mareike Bünning WZB Berlin Social Science Center image/svg+xml
  • Stefan Munnes WZB Berlin Social Science Center image/svg+xml
  • Armin Sauermann WZB Berlin Social Science Center image/svg+xml

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18148/srm/2020.v14i2.7741

Keywords:

retrospective questions, recall accuracy, COVID-19

Abstract

This paper examines and discusses the biases and pitfalls of retrospective survey questions that are currently being used in many medical, epidemiological, and sociological studies on the COVID-19 pandemic. By analyzing the consistency of answers to retrospective questions provided by respondents who participated in the first two waves of a survey on the social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, we illustrate the insights generated by a large body of survey research on the use of retrospective questions and recall accuracy.

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Published

2020-06-02

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 2 (2020): Survey Research Methods During the COVID-19 Crisis

Section

Commentaries

License

Copyright Notice

How to Cite

Problems and pitfalls of retrospective survey questions in COVID-19 studies. (2020). Survey Research Methods, 14(2), 109-114. https://doi.org/10.18148/srm/2020.v14i2.7741

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