Sex, Lies, and Surveys: The Role of Interviewer Characteristics

This paper examines how interviewer characteristics affect adolescent girls' disclosure of sexual behavior during a survey for an programme in Liberia

• From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
• Published: 1 February 2019

• Country: Liberia
• Document Type: Working Paper
• Theme: Economic Growth and Social Change
• Authors: Koroknay-Palicz, T and Montalvao, J

Abstract

This paper examines how easily observable interviewer characteristics, such as gender and physical attractiveness, and more difficult to observe characteristics, such as attitudes and beliefs, affect adolescent girls’ disclosure of sexual behavior during a baseline survey for an adolescent girls program in Liberia. The study finds that girls are more likely to report sexual activity to better-looking interviewers, and less likely to do so to interviewers holding more discriminatory gender attitudes and greater expectations about the program. The study finds no evidence that the gender of the interviewer matters.

This work is part of the Closing the Gender Gap in Africa: evaluating new policies and programmes for women’s economic empowerment programme

Citation

Koroknay-Palicz,Tricia; Montalvao,Joao.2019. Sex, Lies, and Surveys : The Role of Interviewer Characteristics (English). Policy Research working paper; no. WPS 8732 Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group.

Link

Sex, Lies, and Surveys: The Role of Interviewer Characteristics

Published 1 February 2019