Methodology Is Destiny: The Effect of Survey Prompts on Reported Levels of Giving and Volunteering

Abstract

This article extends earlier methodological tests of giving and volunteering in Indiana to a large (N = 4,200) cross-sectional sample collected in the United States in the fall of 2001. The authors find that the results are consistent with those found in the earlier analyses, namely, that longer, more detailed prompts led respondents to recall giving and volunteering at higher incidence rates (proportion donating at all or volunteering at all) and at higher levels (dollars given or hours volunteered) than when compared to survey methodologies with fewer prompts.

Keywords

giving volunteering measurement methodology

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