Geen antwoord is ook een antwoord; over de verwaarlozing van 'weet niet'-antwoorden in de sociologische analyse, gevolgd door: 'Repliek op de kritiek van Henk van Goor' door Joep de Hart, en: 'De verwaarlozing van 'weet niet'-antwoorden: een reactie op H. van Goor' door Karin Wittebrood

Samenvatting

Recent articles by Joep de Hart & Karin Wittebrood left the issue of the null response in surveys largely ignored. Both studies could have been improved by trying to analyze answers such as "I don't know" or "no opinion." The null response can indicate five things: (1) understanding the question but not knowing the answer; (2) offering no evaluation of a situation; (3) reluctance to share an answer; (4) not understanding the question; & (5) not having been asked the question. In Repliek op de kritiek van Henk van Goor (Reply to Henk van Goor's Criticism), De Hart argues that he discussed the relevance of the no response issue to gender differences. A closer reading of the paper would show many of Van Goor's criticisms to be unjustified. In De verwaarlozing van 'weet niet'-antwoorden: een reactie op H. van Goor (Ignoring 'Don't Know' Answers: A Reaction to H. van Goor), Wittebrood defends three components of her study criticized as invalid by Van Goor. 12 References. M. Meeks