title: Evaluating Response Mechanisms in a Life-Space Mobility Instrument with a 'Stem and Leaf' Format.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Life-space mobility scales in the very old (aged 80+) have begun to be used as a way of gauging their enacted mobility.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate if there is evidence that response patterns are being affected by the "stem and leaf" format of a life-space mobility instrument.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive statistics, readability ease scoring, ten ordinary least square regression on a total of 698 females and 376 males from Wave-7 collected during 2010-2011 for the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiological Study of the Elderly.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Response patterns seem to indicate that the stem and leaf format of the life-space mobility instrument is not creating item non-response, illogical responses, or 'no' responses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Because self-reports are so frequently used, more research is needed to ascertain how instrument formats affect response mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Carlos Siordia, Department of Epidemiology, 130 North Bellefield Ave, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Phone: + 1 (412) 383-1708. E-mail: cas271@pitt.edu.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Siordia