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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

2011

Nonresponse bias

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

An Experimental Examination Of The Content Of Persuasion Letters On Nonresponse Rates And Survey Estimates In A Nonresponse Follow-Up Study, Kristen Olson, James M. Lepkowski, David H. Garabrant Jan 2011

An Experimental Examination Of The Content Of Persuasion Letters On Nonresponse Rates And Survey Estimates In A Nonresponse Follow-Up Study, Kristen Olson, James M. Lepkowski, David H. Garabrant

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Nonresponse follow-up studies are often conducted to understand whether respondents and nonrespondents differ on survey variables of interest in sample surveys. Methods used to recruit respondents often differ between nonresponse follow-up studies and main studies. One method is persuasion letters sent from study staff to nonrespondents that are tailored to the types of concerns raised by the respondent and recorded in paradata about the survey recruitment process. This study examined whether tailored persuasion letters yield higher response rates in nonresponse follow-up and whether respondents to a nonresponse follow-up differ depending on the content of the persuasion letter. Nonrespondents to the …


Are We Keeping The People Who Used To Stay? Changes In Correlates Of Panel Survey Attrition Over Time, Kristen Olson, Lindsey Witt Jan 2011

Are We Keeping The People Who Used To Stay? Changes In Correlates Of Panel Survey Attrition Over Time, Kristen Olson, Lindsey Witt

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

As survey response rates decline, correlates of survey participation may also be changing. Panel studies provide an opportunity to study a rich set of correlates of panel attrition over time. We look at changes in attrition rates in the American National Election Studies from 1964 to 2004, a repeated panel survey with a two-wave pre-post election design implemented over multiple decades. We examine changes in attrition rates by three groups of variables: sociodemographic and ecological characteristics of the respondent and household, party affiliation and political and social attitudes recorded at the first interview, and paradata about the first wave interview. …