An Evaluation of the Validity and Reliability of Survey Response Data on Household Electricity Conservation

Evaluated the reliability and validity of responses to a survey question regarding whether households reduced electricity consumption during the energy crisis by directly comparing survey responses with actual electricity consumption before and after the 2nd energy crisis of 1979. Data were obtained from interviews with 2,543 households on 5 major Hawaiian islands. A response bias was hypothesized such that when respondents were confronted directly by an interviewer, they would be inclined to provide the interviewer with a socially acceptable response--that they reduced their consumption of electricity. Results reveal such bias toward overreporting electricity conservation; however, the larger source of error stemmed from response unreliability, as indicated by the weak correlation between reported conservation behavior and actual electricity conservation. (17 ref)