Roger Tourangeau – författare

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.

"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:

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 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:

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.