Survey Paradata: A Review

There is currently no consensus over a standard definition for paradata. Couper (1998)was the first person to introduce the term “paradata” to the field of survey methodology. He initially used the term to refer to automatically generated process data, such as the audit trails produced by Blaise. Since then the term has expanded to cover all types of data about the process of collecting survey data such as interviewer call records, length of interview, keystroke data, interviewer characteristics. Although interviewer observations and information from interviewer questionnaires do not describe processes, this kind of information is also often referred to as paradata. Not included under the term paradata are the actual survey questionnaire data. For the purpose of this review we also do not include metadata and auxiliary data under the term paradata

Extended Field Efforts to Reduce the Risk of Non-response Bias

We examine the effects on survey estimates of extended interviewer efforts to gain survey response, including refusal conversion attempts and attempts to make contact with difficult-to-contact sample members. Previous research on this topic has identified that extended efforts do appear to affect estimates, and in ways that seem consistent with bias reduction. We extend the previous research in three ways. First, we provide the first study of changes over time in the effects of extended efforts on estimates. We study change in the UK over a ten-year period. Second, we use a more precise measure of the difficulty of contact and third, we assess the effects of extended efforts conditional on weight adjustments for non-response estimates as well as on unweighted sample statistics. </jats:p

Extended field efforts to reduce the risk of non-response bias: Do they pay off?

We examine the effects on survey estimates of extended interviewer efforts to gain survey response, including refusal conversion attempts and attempts to make contact with hard-to-contact sample members. Specifically, we update and extend the research of Lynn & Clarke (2002). We estimate bias reduction for demographic and substantive variables from the Health Survey for England, the British Social Attitudes Survey, and the Family Resources Survey and we assess change over a ten-year period. We consider a more precise measure of the difficulty of contact, which was not available to Lynn & Clarke, and we assess the effect of extended efforts on weighted estimates

Is it a good idea to optimise question format for mode of data collection? Results from a mixed modes experiment

It is common practice to adapt the format of a question to the mode of data collection. Multi-coded questions in self-completion and face-to-face modes tend to be transformed for telephone into a series of 'yes/no' questions. Questions with response scales are often branched in telephone interviews, that is, converted into two or more questions, each with shorter response lists. There has been limited research into the impact of these format differences on measurement, particularly across modes. We analyse data from an experiment that contrasted these question formats in face-to-face, telephone and web surveys. The study also included a cognitive interviewing follow-up to further explore the quantitative findings

Effects of visual and aural communication of categorical response options on answers to survey questions

Whether questions and answers are transmitted between interviewer and respondent by visual or aural communication can affect the responses given. We hypothesise that communication channel can affect either the respondent's understanding of the question or the tendency to satisfice. These effects may be mediated by the cognitive ability and motivation of the respondent and by the type and difficulty of the question. We test our hypotheses using data from a large-scale controlled experiment. We find support for the notion that visual presentation improves understanding of the question and reduces the tendency to satisfice. We also find that effects are stronger for respondents of higher cognitive ability and for motivated respondents

The role of the interviewer in producing mode effects: Results from a mixed modes experiment comparing face-to-face, telephone and web administration

The presence of an interviewer is hypothesised to motivate respondents to generate an accurate answer and reduce task difficulty, but also to reduce the privacy of the reporting situation.The prevalence of indicators of satisficing (e.g., non-differentiation, acquiescence, middle categories, primacy and recency, and item nonresponse) and socially desirable responding were studied experimentally across modes and also through cognitive interviewing. Results show differences between interviewer and self-completion modes: in levels of satisficing for non- differentiation, acquiescence, and middle categories and socially desirable responding. There were also unexpected findings of a CATI primacy/positivity bias and of different ways of satisficing

Web Surveys for the General Population: How, Why and When?

Cultural and technological change has made the web a possible and even desirable mode for complex social surveys, but the financial challenges faced by the Research Councils and the UK Government has accelerated this shift, creating an urgent need to explore both its potential and hazards for a range of studies. While some progress in carrying out large-scale complex social surveys on the web has been made, there is still no consensus about how this can best be achieved while maintaining population representativeness and preserving data quality. To address this problem, the NCRM funded a network of methodological innovation “Web Surveys for the General Population: How, Why and When?” (also known by its acronym GenPopWeb). A key objective of the network’s activities was to review and synthesise existing knowledge about the use of web-based data collection for general population samples and to identify areas where new research is needed. In this report, the authors provide a summary of the main issues identified by the network (chapter 2), present the key barriers to using web for surveys of the general population (chapter 3), propose a research agenda for the social science community (chapter 4), argue the case for a UK probability-based web panel (chapter 5), and conclude with recommendations for an infrastructure for enabling a transition to web platforms (chapter 6)

Survey Data Collection Network (SDC-Net): The impact of Covid-19 on survey data collection methods in the social sciences

This is the final report of the Survey Data Collection Network (SDC-Net). SDC-Net was a network of UK-based academic and non-academic partners including government departments, third sector and commercial research organisations, academics and major ESRC investments to share knowledge and collaborate in the area of survey data collection in social surveys as well as in setting the research agenda in the field. The network operated between December 2021 and April 2023. The Principal Investigator was Olga Maslovskaya (University of Southampton) and the Co-Investigators are Gabriele Durrant (University of Southampton and NCRM), Lisa Calderwood (UCL), Gerry Nicolaas (NatCen) and Laura Wilson (ONS). The network activities were funded by the ESRC via the project “The impact of Covid-19 on survey data collection methods in the Social Sciences” as an additional funding stream of the ESRC-funded UK National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM). The network included 107 members. The list of the organisations of the network members can be found in Appendix 1. Tim Hanson, who is the Head of ESS Questionnaire Design and Fieldwork in the European Social Survey (ESS), Ben Humberstone, who is the Head of Population Studies in Kantar Public, Sam Clemens, who is the Head of Probability Survey in Ipsos-Mori as well as Debrah Harding, who is the Managing Director of the Market Research Society (MRS), were project partners. The ESRC recognised the importance of the activities of the previous network GenPopWeb2 which was also funded by the ESRC and the activities of SDC-Net were the continuation of the GenPopWeb2 with the wider scope addressing not only issues associated with online data collection in social surveys but the wider area of survey data collection in the UK

The Role of the Interviewer in Producing Mode Effects: Results from a Mixed Modes Experiment Comparing Face-to-Face, Telephone and Web Administration

The presence of an interviewer (face-to-face or via telephone) is hypothesized to motivate respondents to generate accurate answers and reduce task difficulty, but also to reduce the privacy of the reporting situation. To study this, we used respondents from an existing face-to-face probability sample of the adult general population who were randomly assigned to face-to-face, telephone and web modes of data collection. The prevalence of indicators of satisficing (e.g., non-differentiation, acquiescence, middle category choices and primacy/recency effects) and socially desirable responding were studied across modes. Results show differences between interviewer-administered modes and web in levels of satisficing (non-differentiation, and to some extent acquiescence and middle category choices) and in socially desirable responding. There was also an unexpected finding of how satisficing can differ by mode

Antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity of four known and one new triterpenoid from Combretum imberbe (Combretaceae)

Please open article to read abstractWe thank our colleagues at the HKI department of Biomolecular Chemistry for providing spectral data. Financial support by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD, to J.E.A.), the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF, CHN 02/322), National Research Foundation and University of Pretoria is gratefully acknowledged