COMPUTERIZED AND WRITTEN QUESTIONNAIRES - ARE THEY EQUIVALENT

In this set of three studies, comparisons were made between computer-a dministered questionnaires and those administered in written form. Spe cifically, we examined nonclinical subjects' affective reactions to th e two modes of questionnaire adminstration and their responses to a va riety of commonly used attitude and personality measures. Subjects' af fective reactions to the two modes of administration did not differ. W ith respect to questionnaire responses, there is some evidence suggest ing that computer administration may slightly increase socially desira ble responding amongst those subjects with relatively little computer experience. Overall, however, the differences between the two conditio ns were negligible, suggesting that social scientists should not hesit ate to take advantage of the benefits of computer-administered questio nnaires.