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Who Likes It More?: Using Response Times To Elicit Group Preferences in Surveys

Research output: Working paper

Published
Publication date4/06/2025
Place of PublicationLancaster
PublisherLancaster University, Department of Economics
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Publication series

NameEconomics Working Papers Series

Abstract

Surveys remain crucial tools for measuring societal preferences, but their reliability
is limited by noise and bias in respondent data. We introduce a novel
non-parametric method that leverages response times to reveal group preferences
and rank preference strength across different populations. We validate the approach
and apply it to key socio-economic questions using large representative surveys. The
method complements traditional survey analysis techniques, providing clear indicators
of when standard analyses may be inadequate and when response time data can
yield additional insights. Importantly, our method also quantifies response biases,
allowing researchers to adjust for systematic distortions in survey data.