Dealing with Space and Place in Standard Survey Data
Autor/in:
Hillmert, Steffen; Hartung, Andreas; Weßling, Katarina
Quelle: Survey Research Methods, 11 (2017) 3, S 267-287
Inhalt: Heterogeneity of local conditions and spatial dependencies are typical aspects of sociological phenomena. However, large-scale empirical data is often rather limited with regard to the spatial references that are (publicly) available to researchers. We describe several aspects of the problem and assess possibilities and potential errors associated with limited information. Our examples are returns to education and gender-based and migration-related wage gaps as popular research topics. We base our analyses upon widely used survey data from Germany, the GSOEP, which contains geographical information on various levels of aggregation. Our particular interest is in the decisions that have to be made with regard to problems of space and place in standard surveys, available options and consequences. We conclude with a number of practical suggestions for data users.
The effectiveness of the item count technique in eliciting valid answers to sensitive questions: an evaluation in the context of self-reported delinquency
Titelübersetzung:Die Effektivität der Item-Zähl-Technik bei der Gewinnung valider Antworten auf sensitive Fragen: eine Evaluation im Kontext selbst berichteter Delinquenz
Autor/in:
Wolter, Felix; Laier, Bastian
Quelle: Survey Research Methods, 8 (2014) 3, S 153-168
Inhalt: "Surveys often contain sensitive questions, that is, questions about private, illegal, or socially undesirable behavior. When asked directly in standard survey modes, respondents tend to underreport these behaviors, yielding biased results. One method that promises more valid estimates than direct questioning (DQ) is the item count technique (ICT). In this paper, methodological benefits and disadvantages of the ICT, as compared to DQ, are empirically evaluated with regard to questions on self-reported delinquency. We present findings from a face-to-face survey of 552 respondents who had been convicted under criminal law prior to the survey. The results show that, first, subjective measures of survey quality such as trust in anonymity or willingness to respond are not affected positively by the ICT with the exception that interviewers feel less uncomfortable asking sensitive questions in ICT mode than in DQ mode. Second, all prevalence estimates of self-reported delinquent behaviors are significantly higher in ICT than in DQ mode. Third, a regression model on determinants of response behavior indicates that the effect of the ICT on response validity varies by gender. All in all, our results are in favor of the ICT. This technique is a promising alternative to other special questioning techniques such as the much more complicated randomized response technique (RRT)." (author's abstract)
Age and sex effects in anchoring vignette studies: methodological and empirical contributions
Titelübersetzung:Alters- und Geschlechtseffekte bei "anchoring vignette"-Studien: methodologische und empirische Beiträge
Autor/in:
Grol-Prokopczyk, Hanna
Quelle: Survey Research Methods, 8 (2014) 1, S 1-17
Inhalt: "Anchoring vignettes are an increasingly popular tool for identifying and correcting for group differences in use of subjective ordered response categories. However, existing techniques to maximize response consistency (use of the same standards for self-ratings as for vignette-ratings), which center on matching vignette characters' demographic characteristics to respondents' own characteristics, appear at times to be ineffective or to pose interpretive difficulties. Specifically, respondents often appear to neglect instructions to treat vignette characters as age peers. Furthermore, when vignette characters' sex is matched to respondents' sex, interpretation of sex differences in rating style is rendered problematic. This study applies two experimental manipulations to a national American sample (n=1,765) to clarify best practices for enhancing response consistency. First, an analysis of two methods of highlighting vignette characters' age suggests that both yield better response consistency than previous, less prominent means. Second, a comparison of ratings of same- and opposite-sex vignette characters suggests that, with avoidable exceptions, the sex of the respondent rather than of the vignette character drives observed sex differences in rating style. Implications for interpretation and design of anchoring vignette studies are discussed. Findings also show significant sex, educational, and racial/ethnic differences in styles of rating health, and racial/ethnic differences in styles of rating political efficacy. These findings underscore the incomparability of unadjusted subjective self-ratings across demographic groups." (publisher's description)
Employed or inactive? Cross-national differences in coding parental leave beneficiaries in European labour force survey data
Titelübersetzung:Beschäftigt oder nicht aktiv? Internationale Unterschiede beim Codieren von Elterngeldbeziehern in europäischen Umfrage-Daten zum Arbeitspotenzial
Autor/in:
Mikucka, Malgorzata; Valentova, Marie
Quelle: Survey Research Methods, 7 (2013) 3, S 169-179
Inhalt: "In survey research the parental leave beneficiaries are usually coded as either employed or inactive. An exception is the European Labor Force Survey (EU-LFS), which includes parental leave among other forms of being employed but temporarily not working. This paper explores classification of parental leave takers in EU-LFS. The authors show that classification rules differ cross-nationally: in some countries parental leave takers are considered inactive, in others - employed but temporarily not working. In particular in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary and Slovakia the EU-LFS data classify the beneficiaries as inactive. The authors estimate the number of mothers on parental leave in these countries and show that EU-LFS employment rates of women aged 18-40 are biased downwards 2-7 percentage points; for mothers of children aged 0-2 the bias reaches 12-45 percentage points. Their study shows the limited comparability of EU-LFS employment rates and warns about possible bias in cross-national studies." (author's abstract)
Schlagwörter:parental leave; classification; Elternurlaub; Erwerbsbeteiligung; internationaler Vergleich; Klassifikation; labor force participation; international comparison; Mutterschaftsurlaub; error; maternity leave; Fehler
SSOAR Kategorie:Arbeitsmarktforschung, Erhebungstechniken und Analysetechniken der Sozialwissenschaften
Personalisation in advance letters does not always increase response rates: demographic correlates in a large scale experiment
Titelübersetzung:Personalisierung in Voraus-Briefen erhöhen nicht immer die Antwortraten: demographische Korrelationen in einem Großversuch
Autor/in:
Luiten, Annemieke
Quelle: Survey Research Methods, 5 (2011) 1, S 11-20
Inhalt: "This study was set up to examine whether personalizing advance letters by adding names and appropriate salutation, affects the survey cooperation of subgroups in the general population differently, in analogy to findings that subgroups react differently to advance letters. Differential reactions could be an explanation for the mixed findings in the literature on personalization of advance or cover letters. In a large scale study (N=39,518), information in communal registries was used to study (non)response patterns in subgroups, as a result of personalization. Advance letters of the Dutch CAPI Labor Force Survey were randomly assigned to addresses. In the non-personalized version (N=30,899), letters were addressed to 'the inhabitants of '. In the personalized version (N=8,619), the name or names of the household core were derived from municipal registries and used for addressing the letter. A re-interview addressed the issue whether the advance letter was read by more households when the household was addressed by name. By linking the sample to registries, it was possible to study response behavior of subgroups. The study focused on groups the literature indicates as differentially reacting to advance letters, i.e., different age, ethnic, gender, household composition and income groups, and groups with or without a listed telephone number. Hardly any difference in the overall level of cooperation was found if either a personalized or non-personalized letter was used. However, differential reactions were found for listed versus unlisted telephone owners, where only listed households reacted positively to personalization. In the other subgroups studied, no firm evidence of differential reactions were found. The paper discusses what these results signify for sample composition and the risk of bias." (author's abstract)