Survey framing and mode effects in life satisfaction responses on Canadian social surveys

Description: Quality of life and well-being research often involves survey content that is subjective in nature, for example questions pertaining to life satisfaction. Two phenomena impacting responses to self-reported life satisfaction are studied across a range of social surveys: the framing effect, where a respondent’s answer is influenced by the theme of the survey or its content; and the mode effect, where a respondent’s answer is influenced by the method in which survey data is collected (with an interviewer, through an online collection portal, etc.). The objective of this paper is to document the effect that survey collection and survey content have on Canadians’ self-reported satisfaction with their lives. The impact of these effects on life satisfaction responses is measured across three Statistics Canada survey series: the General Social Survey, the Canadian Community Health Survey, and the Canadian Social Survey.

Issue Number: 2023001

DOI: https://doi.org/10.25318/36280001202300100003-eng