International Nonresponse Trends across Countries and Years: An analysis of 36 years of Labour Force Survey data

Household survey nonresponse is a matter of concern in many countries. In one of the first international trend analyses, de Leeuw and de Heer (2002) found that response rates declined over the years, and that countries differed in response rates and nonresponse trends. Their analyses cover longitudinal data on the Labour Force Survey from National Statistical Institutes for the period 1980 to 1997. We added a new data set, covering the period 1998 -2015, and analysed nonresponse data over time and countries. In these analyses we differentiated between voluntary and mandatory surveys. The trends visible in de Leeuw and de Heer (2002) continue with possibly a small deceleration in refusal rates

Understanding Willingness to Share Smartphone-Sensor Data

The growing smartphone penetration and the integration of smartphones into people’s everyday practices offer researchers opportunities to augment survey measurement with smartphone-sensor measurement or to replace self-reports. Potential benefits include lower measurement error, a widening of research questions, collection of in situ data, and a lowered respondent burden. However, privacy considerations and other concerns may lead to nonparticipation. To date, little is known about the mechanisms of willingness to share sensor data by the general population, and no evidence is available concerning the stability of willingness. The present study focuses on survey respondents’ willingness to share data collected using smartphone sensors (GPS, camera, and wearables) in a probability-based online panel of the general population of the Netherlands. A randomized experiment varied study sponsor, framing of the request, the emphasis on control over the data collection process, and assurance of privacy and confidentiality. Respondents were asked repeatedly about their willingness to share the data collected using smartphone sensors, with varying periods before the second request. Willingness to participate in sensor-based data collection varied by the type of sensor, study sponsor, order of the request, respondent’s familiarity with the device, previous experience with participating in research involving smartphone sensors, and privacy concerns. Willingness increased when respondents were asked repeatedly and varied by sensor and task. The timing of the repeated request, one month or six months after the initial request, did not have a significant effect on willingness

The feasibility of using consumer-level activity trackers in population monitoring of physical activity

Consumer-level activity trackers can potentially be used for population monitoring of physical activity, without suffering from the recall and social desirability bias that occur in self-report and at lower costs and effort compared to research-grade devices. However, other drawbacks may be at play when using personal activity trackers. The current study compares response, representativeness and measurement quality of consumer-level activity trackers to a research-grade accelerometer (ActivPAL) and self-report (the SQUASH survey). The study existed of a questionnaire on physical activity, possession and usage of a personal activity tracker and willingness to share data or wear a research-grade device. Subsequently, a smaller follow-up study was conducted in which respondents wore an ActivPAL and their own personal tracker to allow comparison of the different methods. The results showed a loss of respondents in each step of the process. Additionally, the representativeness of the response was influenced by both demographics and physical activity level, introducing nonresponse bias. The measurements of personal trackers had a decent agreement with the ActivPAL for number of minutes MVPA and steps, while both objective measures differed substantially from self-report on all indicators. It is concluded that consumer-level trackers are not a full replacement for self-report in large-scale studies for estimation of the exact physical activity level of a population due to representation and measurement issues, but could be used, possibly together with research-grade devices, to supplement or calibrate survey results. More research to identify and lower the barriers for respondents to participate in research with activity trackers is warranted

Personalisation in advance letters does not always increase response rates: demographic correlates in a large scale experiment

"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

Response, Willingness, and Data Donation in a Study on Accelerometer Possession in the General Population

In this study, we investigate prevalence of smartwatches; activity trackers (e.g., Fitbits); and apps to track personal activity on smartphones in the Dutch general population. In addition, we ask for respondents’ willingness to participate in a follow-up accelerometer study and wear a professional loaned activity tracker for a week. About half of the sample owns a personal device to track physical activity; 58.0% of those respondents are willing to copy personal data from the device into a questionnaire; 40.6% are willing to upload a spreadsheet from their personal device to a research portal. About half of the respondents of the entire sample express willingness to participate in a follow-up study and wear a professional accelerometer for a week. However, once invited, only 60.0% actually consent to participation. Respondents who own a personal device to monitor physical activity are more inclined to participate in the follow-up accelerometer study than respondents who do not own a personal device. This study shows that respondents with personal activity trackers show higher levels of physical activity compared to respondents without a personal device. In addition, participants in the follow-up study show higher levels of physical activity. Hence, estimating physical activity from personal activity trackers or professional activity trackers will likely result in biased results. We do not find significant differences between respondents with a personal device versus respondents without—nor people who participate in the accelerometer follow-up study—in sitting, standing, and lying time, however. Estimating sedentary behavior from personal or professional activity trackers is likely to result in unbiased results

Replication Data for: International Nonresponse Trends across Countries and Years - An analysis of 36 years of Labour Force Survey data

Household survey nonresponse is a matter of concern in many countries. In one of the first international trend analyses, de Leeuw and de Heer (2002) found that response rates declined over the years, and that countries differed in response rates and nonresponse trends. Their analyses cover longitudinal data on the Labour Force Survey from National Statistical Institutes for the period 1980 to 1997. We added a new data set, covering the period 1998 to 2015, and analysed nonresponse data over time and countries. In these analyses we differentiated between voluntary and mandatory surveys. The trends visible in de Leeuw and de Heer (2002) continue with possibly a small deceleration in refusal rates

International nonresponse trends across countries and years: An analysis of 36 years of labour force survey data

Household survey nonresponse is a matter of concern in many countries. In one of the first international trend analyses, de Leeuw and de Heer (2002) found that response rates declined over the years, and that countries differed in response rates and nonresponse trends. Their analyses cover longitudinal data on the Labour Force Survey from National Statistical Institutes for the period 1980 to 1997. We added a new data set, covering the period 1998 -2015, and analysed nonresponse data over time and countries. In these analyses we differentiated between voluntary and mandatory surveys. The trends visible in de Leeuw and de Heer (2002) continue with possibly a small deceleration in refusal rates

Survey Nonresponse Trends and Fieldwork Effort in the 21st Century: Results of an International Study across Countries and Surveys

For more than three decades, declining response rates have been of concern to both survey methodologists and practitioners. Still, international comparative studies have been scarce. In one of the first international trend analyses for the period 1980–1997, De Leeuw and De Heer (2002) describe that response rates declined over the years and that countries differed in response rates and nonresponse trends. In this article, we continued where De Leeuw and De Heer (2002) stopped, and present trend data for the next period 1998–2015 from National Statistical Institutes. When we looked at trends over time in this new data set, we found that response rates are still declining over the years. Furthermore, nonresponse trends do differ over countries, but not over surveys. Some countries show a steeper decline in response than others, but all types of surveys show the same downward trend. The differences in (non)response trends over countries can be partly explained by differences in survey design between the countries. Finally, for some countries cost indicators were available, these showed that costs increased over the years and are negatively correlated with noncontact rates