Summary information

Study title

Interviewers and Survey Nonresponse, 1991-1996

Creator

Social and Community Planning Research, Survey Methods Centre

Study number / PID

3696 (UKDA)

10.5255/UKDA-SN-3696-1 (DOI)

Data access

Restricted

Series

Not available

Abstract

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The aim of this project was to examine the role the interviewer in professional survey organisations plays in the survey nonresponse process. The 18-month-long programme was supported by a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and was carried out in co-operation with the ESRC Centre on Micro-Social Change and NOP Research. It was divided into three sub-projects. The aim of the first sub-project was to tease out the interviewer effect on nonresponse from other effects, such as the effect of the area, and individual respondents, by using a specially designed experiment from an existing source - the British Household Panel Study (BHPS). The second sub-project investigated when people are likely to be home and how interviewers might develop efficient calling strategies using two large pre-existing datasets - the Family Resources Survey (FRS) and British Social Attitudes (BSA). The third sub-project focused on the initial doorstep interaction between interviewer and address residents, which can be crucial in determining whether or not the prospective respondent will agree to co-operate. The purpose was to gain a better understanding of what takes place during this interaction by collecting a small sample of such data using 32 interviewers from two different organisations - SCPR and NOP. Data collection for this sub-project covered addresses from NOP's Political Tracking survey, and SCPR's random half of the FRS. A total of 11 datasets are included in this study, numbered a - k: a. Interviewers and Survey Nonresponse : Household Level Doorstep Interactions, Political Tracking, 1996. b. Interviewers and Survey Nonresponse : Household Level Doorstep Interactions, FRS (SCPR portion), March 1996. c. Interviewers and Survey Nonresponse : Matched Contact Form/Tape Data at Call Level,...

Social behaviour and attitudes

ADULTSAGEAGE GROUPSATTITUDESBUILDINGSCHILDRENCOOPERATIONDEGREESECONOMIC ACTIVITYEDUCATIONAL BACKGROUNDEDUCATIONAL CERTIFICATESEMPLOYMENT

Data collection period

Not available

Country

Great Britain

Time dimension

Cross-sectional (one-time) study

Analysis unit

Individuals

Families/households

Interviewers and respondents.

National

Households

Interviewers

Universe

Datasets a - g (see list under Abstract) refer to interviewers and households from England and Wales. Datasets h - k refer to households from across Great Britain.

Sampling procedure

No sampling (total universe)

Multi-stage stratified random sample

Datasets j - k (see list under Abstract) - all call records from the original sample were used. 'Meta' observations and recordings in data files were drawn from multi-stage stratified random sampling. Datasets a - d, f - g used other non-random sampling - 16 interviewers and their respective assignment areas were selected to allow for geographic spread (but excluding Scotland) and to allow for a range of experience levels.
Dataset e: 16 interviewers each from two organisations were selected to allow for geographic spread (but excluding Scotland) and to allow for a range of experience levels.
Datasets h - i: call records were keyed for the households involved in the interpenetrated sample design sub-sample in Wave 2 of the BHPS. This sub-sample was originally generated by clustering adjacent PSUs into 'geographic pools' and selecting a systematic sample of these pools.

Kind of data

Text

Numeric

Data collection mode

Face-to-face interview

Self-completion

'Meta' observations and recordings in data files were based on face-to-face interviews. Dataset e (see list under Abstract): a self-completion form was completed by the interviewer. Datasets a - d: tape recording and contact description forms completed by interviewer. Datasets f - g: tape recording and later transcription. Datasets h - k: coversheets/address record forms completed by interviewer.

Grant number

R000235776

Publisher

UK Data Service

Publication year

1997

Terms of data access

The Data Collection is available to UK Data Service registered users subject to the End User Licence Agreement.

Commercial use of the data requires approval from the data owner or their nominee. The UK Data Service will contact you.

Campanelli, P., Sturgis, P. and Purdon, S. (1997) Can you hear me knocking?: an investigation into the impact of interviewers on survey response rates [Research report], London: National Centre for Social Research.
Sturgis, P., Campanelli, P. and Moon, N. (1996) 'Exploring the impact of survey introductions' , Alexandria, Virginia: American Statistical Association.