Response Latencies in Survey Research

Several COPS members have, over the years, been using response latencies in surveys and experiments. How long it takes a person to answer a question functions as an important window through which we can peer into the "black box" that is the human mind. A recent Washington Post article talks about some of the foundations of this research. Because of the increase in the number and types of empirical questions that can be answered when response latencies are measured, we are using "latent timers" (a methodology developed in part here at OSU in the Political Science department) in the TOPS survey this year. Analyzing these data should keep us very busy for years to come.