Randomized Response Technique: Applications to Research on Rape

Research on rape is handicapped by a paucity of accurate information on frequency of rape. The randomized response technique (RR), designed to produce reliable information in surveys of sensitive issues, is advocated as a means of uncovering true frequencies. RR surveys were conducted on initial and replication samples of undergraduate baccalaureate nursing students (total n = 292) and 76 graduate nursing students. The estimates of prevalence of rape victimization were 15.1% in the initial and 12.1% in the replication samples, with the difference not significant ( z = 1.25, p > .05). The findings are discussed in the context of results from traditional surveys.