ABSTRACT
The central position of the social survey and the questionnaire and inter view in social research is explained by the need for descriptive data, for views on events, for responses to the pleasures and pain of living, collected in the most cost-effective way. There is a beguiling directness in asking questions and aggregating the answers. Assuming that the ques tions asked and the answers given are understood by researcher and respondent in the way each intended, the result should be information that is both valid and reliable. But both intention and understanding are affected by factors that may not even be appreciated by both parties.
