Nonresponse In Household Interview Surveys

A comprehensive framework for both reduction of nonresponse andpostsurvey adjustment for nonresponse This book provides guidance and support for survey statisticianswho need to develop models for postsurvey adjustment fornonresponse, and for survey designers and practitioners attemptingto reduce unit nonresponse in household interview surveys. Itpresents the results of an eight-year research program that hasassembled an unprecedented data set on respondents andnonrespondents from several major household surveys in the UnitedStates. Within a comprehensive conceptual framework of influences onnonresponse, the authors investigate every aspect of surveycooperation, from the influences of household characteristics andsocial and environmental factors to the interaction betweeninterviewers and householders and the design of the surveyitself. Nonresponse in Household Interview Surveys: * Provides a theoretical framework for understanding and studyinghousehold survey nonresponse * Empirically explores the individual and combined influences ofseveral factors on nonresponse * Presents chapter introductions, summaries, and discussions onpractical implications to clarify concepts and theories * Supplies extensive references for further study and inquiry Nonresponse in Household Interview Surveys is an important resourcefor professionals and students in survey methodology/researchmethods as well as those who use survey methods or data inbusiness, government, and academia. It addresses issues critical todealing with nonresponse in surveys, reducing nonresponse duringsurvey data collection, and constructing statistical compensationsfor the effects of nonresponse on key survey estimates.

For many household surveys in the United States, responses rates have been steadily declining for at least the past two decades. A similar decline in survey response can be observed in all wealthy countries. Efforts to raise response rates have used such strategies as monetary incentives or repeated attempts to contact sample members and obtain completed interviews, but these strategies increase the costs of surveys. This review addresses the core issues regarding survey nonresponse. It considers why response rates are declining and what that means for the accuracy of survey results. These trends are of particular concern for the social science community, which is heavily invested in obtaining information from household surveys. The evidence to date makes it apparent that current trends in nonresponse, if not arrested, threaten to undermine the potential of household surveys to elicit information that assists in understanding social and economic issues. The trends also threaten to weaken the validity of inferences drawn from estimates based on those surveys. High nonresponse rates create the potential or risk for bias in estimates and affect survey design, data collection, estimation, and analysis. The survey community is painfully aware of these trends and has responded aggressively to these threats. The interview modes employed by surveys in the public and private sectors have proliferated as new technologies and methods have emerged and matured. To the traditional trio of mail, telephone, and face-to-face surveys have been added interactive voice response (IVR), audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (ACASI), web surveys, and a number of hybrid methods. Similarly, a growing research agenda has emerged in the past decade or so focused on seeking solutions to various aspects of the problem of survey nonresponse; the potential solutions that have been considered range from better training and deployment of interviewers to more use of incentives, better use of the information collected in the data collection, and increased use of auxiliary information from other sources in survey design and data collection. Nonresponse in Social Science Surveys: A Research Agenda also documents the increased use of information collected in the survey process in nonresponse adjustment.

Praise for the First Edition: "The book makes a valuable contribution by synthesizing current research and identifying areas for future investigation for each aspect of the survey process." —Journal of the American Statistical Association "Overall, the high quality of the text material is matched by the quality of writing . . ." —Public Opinion Quarterly ". . . it should find an audience everywhere surveys are being conducted." —Technometrics This new edition of Survey Methodology continues to provide a state-of-the-science presentation of essential survey methodology topics and techniques. The volume's six world-renowned authors have updated this Second Edition to present newly emerging approaches to survey research and provide more comprehensive coverage of the major considerations in designing and conducting a sample survey. Key topics in survey methodology are clearly explained in the book's chapters, with coverage including sampling frame evaluation, sample design, development of questionnaires, evaluation of questions, alternative modes of data collection, interviewing, nonresponse, post-collection processing of survey data, and practices for maintaining scientific integrity. Acknowledging the growing advances in research and technology, the Second Edition features: Updated explanations of sampling frame issues for mobile telephone and web surveys New scientific insight on the relationship between nonresponse rates and nonresponse errors Restructured discussion of ethical issues in survey research, emphasizing the growing research results on privacy, informed consent, and confidentiality issues The latest research findings on effective questionnaire development techniques The addition of 50% more exercises at the end of each chapter, illustrating basic principles of survey design An expanded FAQ chapter that addresses the concerns that accompany newly established methods Providing valuable and informative perspectives on the most modern methods in the field, Survey Methodology, Second Edition is an ideal book for survey research courses at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It is also an indispensable reference for practicing survey methodologists and any professional who employs survey research methods.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics' (BJS) National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) measures the rates at which Americans are victims of crimes, including rape and sexual assault, but there is concern that rape and sexual assault are undercounted on this survey. BJS asked the National Research Council to investigate this issue and recommend best practices for measuring rape and sexual assault on their household surveys. Estimating the Incidence of Rape and Sexual Assault concludes that it is likely that the NCVS is undercounting rape and sexual assault. The most accurate counts of rape and sexual assault cannot be achieved without measuring them separately from other victimizations, the report says. It recommends that BJS develop a separate survey for measuring rape and sexual assault. The new survey should more precisely define ambiguous words such as "rape," give more privacy to respondents, and take other steps that would improve the accuracy of responses. Estimating the Incidence of Rape and Sexual Assault takes a fresh look at the problem of measuring incidents of rape and sexual assault from the criminal justice perspective. This report examines issues such as the legal definitions in use by the states for these crimes, best methods for representing the definitions in survey instruments so that their meaning is clear to respondents, and best methods for obtaining as complete reporting as possible of these crimes in surveys, including methods whereby respondents may report anonymously. Rape and sexual assault are among the most injurious crimes a person can inflict on another. The effects are devastating, extending beyond the initial victimization to consequences such as unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, sleep and eating disorders, and other emotional and physical problems. Understanding the frequency and context under which rape and sexual assault are committed is vital in directing resources for law enforcement and support for victims. These data can influence public health and mental health policies and help identify interventions that will reduce the risk of future attacks. Sadly, accurate information about the extent of sexual assault and rape is difficult to obtain because most of these crimes go unreported to police. Estimating the Incidence of Rape and Sexual Assault focuses on methodology and vehicles used to measure rape and sexual assaults, reviews potential sources of error within the NCVS survey, and assesses the training and monitoring of interviewers in an effort to improve reporting of these crimes.

Measuring populations in person and on the telephone; Sample designs for personal and telephone interview surveys; Administration of the surveys; Response differences between the two modes of data collection; Method effects associated with specific types of measures; Measurable sources of error in the survey data; Sampling and data collection costs for the surveys; Summary and speculation.

Surveys are the principal source of data not only for social science, but for consumer research, political polling, and federal statistics. In response to social and technological trends, rates of survey nonresponse have risen markedly in recent years, prompting observers to worry about the continued validity of surveys as a tool for data gathering. Newspaper stories, magazine articles, radio programs, television broadcasts, and Internet blogs are filled with data derived from surveys of one sort or another. Reputable media outlets generally indicate whether a survey is representative, but much of the data routinely bandied about in the media and on the Internet are not based on representative samples and are of dubious use in making accurate statements about the populations they purport to represent. Surveys are social interactions, and like all interactions between people, they are embedded within social structures and guided by shared cultural understandings. This issue of The ANNALS examines the difficulties with finding willing respondents to these surveys and how the changing structure of society, whether it be the changing family structure, mass immigration, rising inequality, or the rise of technology, has presented new issues to conducting surveys. This volume will be of interest to faculty and students who specialize in sociological movements as well as economic and immigration movements and its effect on surveying.

Examines the different populations and settings that can make surveys hard to conduct and discusses methods to meet these challenges.