The object of study can be interpreted broadly and narrowly. We will consider both options. And the respondent is not only the one without whom the opinion poll will not take place. Nowadays, the concept takes on a different meaning. Now each of us is a respondent, and here's why this is what our conversation will be about.
Value
Yes, we cast a shadow on the wattle fence. We give up the usual preface and immediately give the answer to the question. The term “respondent” means “a person answering the questionnaire or giving an interview.” Perhaps the reader often came across a term. Because every time we hear "British scientists found out that ...", usually after such an introduction there are percentages, numbers and a stunning fact (they did not put in quotation marks, because the studies of scientists are sometimes interesting and necessary).
Psychological research, as a rule, is based on statistics that are obtained by surveys of the population, or rather, the group that is the subject of the study. For instance:
- British scientists have found that 90% of information about them in foreign media is not true.
- British scientists have found that 40% of office workers take food with them and do not use the company's canteen.
- British scientists have found that 100% of all women on Earth think too much about themselves of what should not be.
By the way, the examples are fictitious. But the girls really artificially complicate their lives. The moral of the data given above is that all percentages, if they are not fancy, like ours, are on the respondents, and this is probably an obvious fact, but it should be said about it.
suggestions
And now, proposals that are not related to British scientists, but the significance of the object of study is involved:
- Our respondents are responsible and interested in the results of the study.
- The quality of the respondents' answers during the interview (long or short) depends on the clarity of the wording.
- If you do not recruit the required number of respondents, then the study will not take place.
- And are these respondents? What is the matter with them? And they ran and caught, of course. Maybe let people go?
Yes, the word is official, but we tried to dilute the serious tone of the definition. Now let's move on to replacements.
Synonyms and modern realities
Those who are interested in synonyms for the “respondent” will be disappointed. Because the dictionary gives only two replacements - "examinee" and "participant". You can also offer the word “interviewee” as additional support. But it's long and awkward.
And now back to what we talked about at the beginning: each of us is a respondent. Why? Because now is the time of interactive TV, when the viewer becomes a full member of the material production process.
Imagine that a running series loses its rating - it is being turned off, and the decision does not come from the director or scriptwriters who have signed up, this is the will of him - the viewer. And so with everything now. The project closes when it ceases to be of interest to the addressee. That is, we are in a state of constant questioning, which is implicated in huge amounts of money. This approach opens up unprecedented prospects for the synonymy of the concept, but let the reader think about the replacements himself, since they are not in the dictionary.
Elite and Mass: A History of Unconscious Power
Our world is born of competition. And even we are not talking about the fact that a neighbor is competing with a neighbor, although this is enough. The society is pierced by a hierarchy that tells which school to attend, which university to attend, and which job to apply for. In a television show, people compete with each other directly, and viewers empathize with them. Performers think that they are higher, more talented than those people who look at them. Although no one talks about this, because after all, participants need the voices of the audience.
It turns out a paradox: we are striving hard, developing and want to stand out from the crowd, but in the end we still get dependent on the addressee and potential consumer of our talents. What is the conclusion? There are actually two of them:
- You should not ask.
- The respondent is a majestic and powerful figure who is not aware of his true power.
A topic worthy of consideration, so we leave the reader.