30: Respondent Burden

Response burden has been defined in several ways, but a representation of the definitions used outside the field of travel surveys may be:

A definition used in relation to travel surveys and much better reflecting the perspective of the respondent is:

The difference between these two definitions may seem small, but is, in fact, substantial. Both, in fact, are technically correct since burden may either mean “that which is borne or carried”, or “that which is borne with labour or difficulty; that which is grievous, wearisome or oppressive”. (Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc)

This paper includes both definitions of response burden, because minimisation of both is likely to give better response which, in turn, will certainly provide better data (e.g., Richardson et al., 1996).