What is Response Bias? Reasons, Types and how do you get rid of it

Definition of Response Bias
A series of tendencies that individuals exhibit with respect to answering questions inaccurately or dishonestly is known as response bias. Response bias is common in research that includes self-report by participants in surveys, orderly interviews, etc.
It has a significant effect on the survey’s or questionnaire’s plausibility. Hence, response bias and its impact on research must be known and understood by researchers. This can help them prevent it from adversely affecting their research.

Reasons For Response Bias
1. Emotional Questions
Some questions may draw out biased answers by engaging the individual’s emotions. The emotional nature of the individual is responsible for this.
2. Reward Questions
Participants are rewarded by various survey platforms online for taking part in surveys. The rewards are the main reason behind them wanting to be eligible for these surveys. Hence, they can go to the extent of lying in order to get rewarded.
3. Complex Questions
The complexity of specific questions can prevent or make it difficult for participants to answer. In such cases, answers may be chosen randomly by them.

Types of Response Bias
1. Social Response Bias
Social response bias is also called social desirability bias. Bad behavior is generally under-reported, whereas good behavior is over-reported by participants impacted by social responsibility bias.
Ways of avoiding it:
Declaring the answers by respondents as anonymous is an effective way of preventing this bias. By this, more truthful and open responses are promoted.

2. Non-Response Bias
When a target population is not appropriately represented in a survey sample, non-response bias or participation bias occurs.
The response of participants is out of balance with that of the bigger population in non-response bias. The results obtained may be partial and may affect the outcome of the research.
Ways of avoiding it:
Surveys must be shared across various platforms to varying groups of people like email, website, social media, etc., to minimize the chances of a bias happening.

3. Prestige Bias
When asked about the participants' financial, educational, and social status in the survey, exaggerated responses in the form of prestige bias occur.
The meaning of prestige varies between cultures, and hence the responses of participants impacted by prestige bias will vary.
Ways of avoiding it:
The chances of prestige bias can be minimized but not eradicated by framing the questions in the survey neutrally.
Humans tend to want to be looked at as prestigious.

4. Order Effect
The sequence of the questions in a survey can lead to response bias.
Example, asking respondents if they are happy with their roles after asking them about problems with their line manager will make them answer the second question based on the first question.
Ways of avoiding it:
Minimizing the chances of this response bias is the most difficult amongst the other forms of response bias.
It takes time to arrange the questions of a survey in the correct sequence, which many researchers do not have.

5. Recency Bias
This is when participants just choose the answer they read last.
Participants are seen to have already detached from the survey when they exhibit this response bias.
Ways of avoiding it:
Making sure that the surveys are up to the mark minimizes the chances of this response bias occurring.
Nevertheless, participants might sometimes be seen detaching from the survey regardless.

6. Hostility Bias
Seeking answers related to negative experiences or distressing memories may invoke hostility among participants.
Questions related to death, debt, and divorce are some examples that may cause this response bias.
Ways of avoiding it:
Sensitive topics or topics that may draw out negative responses must be avoided whenever possible.
Reasons behind asking such questions or the intended use of the answers can be clarified to the respondents. This can question the shock related to sensitive questions and help them prepare themselves for the questions.

7. Satisficing
The word is a mixture of 'suffice' and 'satisfy.' It refers to questions that are sufficient enough to draw out satisfactory responses.
That is, the participants who only fulfill the survey's basic requirements are sufficient enough to present responses.

8. Acquiescence Bias
Only the choices with positive responses are chosen by participants exhibiting this response bias.
Example: 'Strongly Agree' or 'Yes.'

This video is on Response Bias and it has the following sub-topics.

Time Stamps

0:00 What is Response Bias?
0:15 Definition of Response Bias
0:45 Reasons For Response Bias
1:23 Types of Response Bias
5:07 How Do You Get Rid of Response Bias?