Defining the Quality of Sociological Tools through Analyzing Nonverbal Respondent Reactions (Empirical Data)

Abstract

The quality of sociological information directly depends on the quality of the sociological survey tools. This article presents results of the experiment that aims at measuring how productive it is during the pilot studies to analyze nonverbal cues of emotions and insincerity as reactions of respondents containing sensitive themes. The study reveals that recording and analyzing nonverbal reactions during the pilot studies is extremely effective. Respondents use mimics 2.5 times more often than gestures, and 5 times more often than changing postures. The findings suggest that the nonverbal demonstration of negative emotions such as fear, disgust, or irritation requires further refinement of the questionnaire. Surprise and joy threaten less the quality of sociological data; however, sometimes these emotions may also be reason for further improvements in the questionnaire.