Gender-of-interviewer Effects in Self-reported Gender Ideologies – Evidence Based on Interviewer Change in a Panel Survey
Previous research has largely overlooked whether and to what extent the observed variation in gender ideologies depends on the interviewer. This study examines gender-of-interviewer effects in gender ideologies among respondents, interviewed by different interviewers in multiple waves of a large-scale panel survey in Germany. By applying fixed-effects models to data from the adult cohort of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), the study finds that respondents report more egalitarian views to female interviewers. While gender-of-interviewer effects were more pronounced for men, in West Germany, and for egalitarian slanted attitude items, further effect heterogeneity seemed to be relatively low for respondents’ characteristics. The results illustrate the influence of the interview situation on sensitive questions and their methodological consideration in further research.