{"id":2013,"slug":"rule-r2-no-agree-disagree","title":"R2 — Never use agree/disagree statements in the widget","kind":"rule","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","candid-team"],"topics":["survey-question-design"],"reference_body":"**Rule:** Do not use agree/disagree statements anywhere in the widget. Use item-specific response options or counts.\n\n**Why:** Saris 2010 ([[saris-2010-item-specific-beats-agree-disagree]]) — item-specific quality coefficients 0.74-0.89 vs agree/disagree 0.18-0.51; the gap is method bias (acquiescence), not noise. >100 studies show acquiescence affects ~10-20% of responses. Lelkes & Weiss 2015 is a partial counter on criterion validity — but rewriting alone is not magic; the real win is converting to OBSERVATIONS, which agree/disagree formats actively prevent.\n\n**How to apply:** Forbidden phrasing: \"I have a strong online presence (agree/disagree)\", \"My website performs well (agree/disagree)\". Required phrasing: name the construct directly with item-specific options.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"saris-2010-item-specific-beats-agree-disagree","title":"Saris et al. 2010 — item-specific response options far outperform agree/disagree on data quality","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"lelkes-weiss-2015-skeptical-counter","title":"Lelkes & Weiss 2015 — skeptical counter: item-specific no better on criterion validity","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-smb-widget-capture-layer-june-2026","title":"Research brief: SMB widget capture layer — what owners can vs cannot self-report (June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"acquiescence-bias-prevalence","title":"Acquiescence bias — over 100 studies; affects ~10-20% of responses","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-23T19:16:01.044Z","updated_at":"2026-06-23T19:16:01.044Z"}