Question 4.24

4.24 Telling the truth? Many subjects don’t give honest answers to questions about activities that are illegal or sensitive in some other way. One study divided a large group of white adults into thirds at random. All were asked if they had ever used cocaine. The first group was interviewed by telephone: 21% said Yes. In the group visited at home by an interviewer, 25% said Yes. The final group was interviewed at home but answered the question on an anonymous form that they sealed in an envelope. Of this group, 28% said they had used cocaine.

  1. (a) Which result do you think is closest to the truth? Why?

  2. (b) Give two other examples of behavior you think would be underreported in a telephone survey.