Careless responses in questionnaire data: A knowledge structure perspective on the detection performance

The detection of careless responses in questionnaire data is of increasing importance in a time online surveys and web-based experiments. There are many statistics that aim at detecting careless responses in already collected data. Based on classical test theory and item response theory these indices have been tested and compared. But until now no evaluation is available from the perspective of knowledge structure theory. We compared representatives from various classes of indices within a simulation study based on knowledge structure theory. For two subscales of the Freiburg Personality Inventory (Fahrenberg, Hampel, & Selg, 2001) derived from the respective normative sample, knowledge states and response patterns were simulated. Careless responses were characterized by increased careless error and lucky guess rates, or systematic responses (e.g., answering ”no” throughout). The number of careless responders and the extent of their carelessness were varied. Signal detection theory was used to evaluate the performance of the indices. References Fahrenberg, J., Hampel, R., & Selg, H. (2001). FPI-R. Das Freiburger Persönlichkeitsinventar, 7.