Introduction

Survey methodology considers the standardized survey interview to be interaction involving two participants: the interviewer and the respondent. Survey methodology then analyzes the utterances of these participants in terms of their functions in a question-answer sequence. We see this approach at work when we study coding schemes for the analysis of verbal utterances in survey interviews, for example Dijkstra's elaborate and elegant coding scheme (forthcoming). According to Dijkstra: “Such an interaction sequence generally starts with the posing of a question from the questionnaire by the interviewer and ends at the moment interviewer indicates that the question is sufficiently answered by respondent, for example, by posing another question from the questionnaire.”Dijkstra's coding scheme contains three possible actors, namely, the interviewer, the respondent, and a possible third party who actively participates in the interview, usually the respondent's spouse or child. The second variable in Dijkstra's model is the type of information exchange that occurs:

• A “question” is a request to the other person for information related to the questionnaire, for example, a request for information, a probe, repeat of the question, or an elucidation.

• An “answer” is the requested information.

• A “repeat” is the repetition of an answer by the same speaker.

• “Perceived” is a remark indicating that an utterance is received and/

• understood. It includes utterances like “hm mm,” “fine,” “OK,” or “yes.”

• A “request” is a request for repetition.

• A “comment” is a remark on former talk, for example, “Difficult question!”