Compared to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS) had relatively unreliable question framing. NVAWS asked respondents to recall physical violence they had experienced throughout their childhood and adult life. The average age of respondents was about forty-three. The recall period thus was often over thirty years.

Choosing an appropriate recall period is a major issue in survey design. Documentation for NCVS explains the choice of a six-month recall period for NCVS:

Generally, respondents are able to recall more accurately an event which occurred within three months of the interview rather than one which occurred within six months; they can recall events over a six-month period more accurately than over a 12-month period. However, a shorter reference period would require more field interviews per year, increasing the data collection costs significantly. These increased costs would have to be balanced by cost reductions elsewhere (sample size is often considered). Reducing sample size however, reduces the precision of estimates of relatively rare crimes. In light of these trade-offs of cost and precision, a reference period of six months is used for the NCVS.^

NVAWS asked respondents to recall over decades acts with a huge range of salience:

G13 Not counting any incidents that you already mentioned, after you became an adult did any other adult, male or female ever…

Throw something at you that could hurt you? {yes, no}

G14 Push, grab, or shove you? {yes, no}

…

G20 Beat you up? [yes, no]

G21 Threaten you with a gun? {yes, no}^

Adults who have participated in contact sports or engaged in informal physical play undoubtedly have experienced many incidents of the first two acts. The latter two types of acts are much rarer and are much more salient for lifetime recall. Grouping both types of acts together for adult-lifetime recall of physical assaults generates statistics that are difficult to interpret factually.

In addition, NVAWS poorly bound reports of incidents of physical violence. NVAWS included a separate section of questions on rape before the section of questions on physical violence. Rape is a type of physical violence. Incidents of rape could evoke affirmative responses for the questions used to identify incidents of physical violence. Two out of twenty-four questions in the physical-assault survey section include the lead-in text “Not counting any incidents you’ve already mentioned.” That’s weak bounding for the previous section of questions on rape.

NVAWS organized detailed questioning on incidents according to categories of perpetrators. In addition, it separated that perpetrator-category incident detail reporting into reporting of incidents by perpetrators of rape, and then reporting of incidents by perpetrators of physical assault. That survey design fragments a victim’s experience of an incident of victimization. That survey design could easily produce double, disconnected reports of rape and physical assault.

In addition to weaknesses in recall period and question bounding, NVAWS has other serious weaknesses. The U.S. National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All-Injury Program (NEISS AIP) provides much better quality national estimates of serious incidents of domestic violence than does NVAWS.