Interviewing the surveyors: factors which contribute to questionnaire falsification (curbstoning) among Jamaican field surveyors

Abstract

One of the greatest concerns or fears of either survey designers, survey project manager or those relying on survey data for decision-making, is the falsification of data collected in the field. This practice is called curbstoning. Using the Grounded Theory Methodology, I interview 74 quantitative field surveyors in Jamaica to identify the strategies they use to falsify questionnaires. These field surveyors explain and describe curbstoning methods they have used to falsify close-ended and open-ended questionnaires, as well as questionnaires with verification questions. I have suggested several strategies for mitigating each one of these curbstoning methods. This article has significant practical application for how survey designers and survey project managers in all spaces around the world can mitigate against the curbstoning of questionnaires. This article also helps to start discussions on the falsification of emerging methods and tools for quantitative data collection.

Keywords:

• curbstoning
• survey
• Grounded Theory
• validity
• interviews
• research
• Jamaica