Converting Nonrespondents in PIAAC Germany 2012 Using Responsive Measures

Using paradata to modify design features during fieldwork is the earmark of responsive designs (Groves & Heeringa, 2006). One objective of responsive approaches is to improve the composition of the final sample by gaining the participation of nonrespondents. A simple but innovative attempt at realizing such a response intervention was undertaken during the fieldwork of PIAAC Germany 2012. Different groups of nonrespondents were identified for follow-up efforts. With a view to the outcome measures of PIAAC, basic skills of the adult population, two groups were focused: Non-nationals and sample persons with low educational attainment. To identify these groups, different sources of auxiliary data were used (sampling frame, interviewer observations, and a commercial vendor database). Non-nationals were identified using information from the sampling frame. The challenge was to identify sample persons with (presumably) low levels of education. This was achieved by selecting a set of auxiliary variables, and subsequently using classification trees to model and predict sample persons with low levels of education. The sample persons were sent carefully crafted tailored letters during the re-issue phase. Overall, the cost-benefit balance of this intervention is rather disproportionate: A high level of effort with little apparent impact on the final sample composition. Nevertheless, this explorative endeavour was worthwhile and informative. In particular, the model-based prediction of different types of sample persons can be regarded as a promising approach

Documenting Survey Translation (Version 1.0)

Survey documentation is an integral part of methodically sound survey research. These guidelines aim at providing the persons coordinating survey translations (e.g., researchers responsible for survey translation in a larger study, or those wishing to translate and adapt an existing instrument for their own research) with a framework within which they can plan and document survey translations both for internal as well as for external purposes (publications or technical reports). It summarizes different aspects of translation documentation and reviews elements to be included in such a documentation.Die Dokumentation von Umfragen gehört als zentraler Bestandteil zur Umfrageforschung. Mit dieser Guideline erhalten Personen, die Fragebogenübersetzungen koordinieren (z.B. Wissenschaftler*innen, die für die Übersetzung von Messinstrumenten in einer größeren Studie verantwortlich sind, oder diejenigen, die ein bestehendes Instrument für ihre eigene Forschung übersetzen), Informationen, wie sie diese Übersetzungen sowohl für interne als auch für externe Zwecke (Publikationen oder technische Berichte) planen und dokumentieren können. Die Guideline bietet einen Überblick über verschiedene Arten von Übersetzungsdokumentation und stellt Aspekte vor, die in eine solche Dokumentation aufgenommen werden sollten

Documentation of Face-to-Face Surveys (Version 1.0)

Documentation is an integral element of good scientific practice. Transparent and reproducible research with survey data requires a comprehensive and careful documentation of the data collection process and data processing. This guideline gives an overview of key information on the survey, data collection, and data processing that should be included in the documentation of face-to-face surveys. The guideline is most useful when read and incorporated already in the planning phase of a survey to ensure all relevant information for the final documentation is collected during survey implementation.Dokumentation ist ein integraler Bestandteil guter wissenschaftlicher Praxis. Transparente und reproduzierbare Forschung mit Umfragedaten erfordert eine umfassende und sorgfältige Dokumentation des Datenerhebungsprozesses und der Datenaufbereitung. Diese Survey Guideline gibt einen Überblick über alle wichtigen Informationen zur Studie, zur Datenerhebung und zur Datenaufbereitung, die die Dokumentation einer Face-to-Face-Erhebung beinhalten sollte. Es ist empfehlenswert, den Leitfaden schon während der Planungsphase einer Umfrage zu lesen und zu berücksichtigen. So kann sichergestellt werden, dass alle relevanten Informationen für die endgültige Dokumentation während der Durchführung der Umfrage gesammelt werden

The challenge of meeting international data collection standards within national constraints: some examples from the fieldwork for PIAAC in Germany

"The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) is an international OECD study that compares key competencies of adults (16-65 years) in the participating countries. In order to obtain high quality data and to ensure equivalence of measurement across countries, the international PIAAC Consortium produced a very detailed and elaborate set of standards and guidelines for all aspects of the national implementations. In Germany, a comprehensive set of measures and procedures was put in place for the PIAAC fieldwork. Some of the international requirements for data collection were not meaningful within the national context and required certain adaptations. This article describes various key fieldwork measures in Germany and discusses how specific measures relate to central international data collection standards. Reflecting on this national experience, some of the possibilities and limitations of national compliance to international standards are discussed." (author's abstract

PIAAC-L data collection 2014: technical report; follow-up to PIAAC Germany 2012

The international PIAAC survey (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies) is part of a large-scale undertaking of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD) to assess and monitor key adult competencies and hereby inform policy decisions. Countries participating in the first cycle of PIAAC conduct a large-scale assessment of literacy, numeracy, and problem solving in technology-rich environments1 together with the administration of a background questionnaire. This questionnaire covers numerous antecedents of skills as well as economic and social outcomes. National Project Managements for PIAAC are required to adhere to a strict and elaborate set of standards and guidelines in order to ensure a high quality of data and the comparability of the results. The 24 countries participating in the first round of PIAAC (including Germany) carried out their data collection in 2011/2012 (referred to as PIAAC 2012).2 The international results were made public in October 2013 (OECD, 2013; Rammstedt, 2013) and were taken up by a wide audience. The international Public Use Files are available at the OECD website

PIAAC-L data collection 2016: technical report

This paper is part of a series of reports describing the technical implementation of PIAAC-L, the German PIAAC-Longitudinal project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. It is a follow-up to the technical reports for wave 1 (Zabal, Martin, & Rammstedt, 2016) and wave 2 (Zabal, Martin, & Rammstedt, 2017) and aims to describe the design, instruments, fieldwork processes, and data dissemination for wave 3

Adults' Identity in Acculturation Settings: The Multigroup Ethnic & National Identity Measure (MENI)

European societies are facing great challenges not only in successfully integrating large numbers of culturally, linguistically, and religiously diverse immigrants structurally (e.g. into schools or the labor market), but also in fostering the construction of new identities and preserving social cohesion. In this context, it is crucial to understand the commitment people feel to a cultural environment and the way in which such commitment develops, particularly in new cultural settings. However, there is a lack of research on identity development among adult immigrants and natives and a lack of suitable measurement instruments. To address this, we adapted the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure–Revised (MEIM-R) for application to immigrant and native adult populations and extended it to measure also national identity. Our aim in the present study was to test the psychometric properties of this new Multigroup Ethnic & National Identity Measure (MENI) in a representative sample (N = 3410) of immigrant and native adults (aged 20-72 years) in a European context, namely Germany. Results based on confirmatory factor analyses support a two-factor structure (commitment and exploration) for MENI and confirm scalar invariance across both the immigrant and native adult populations

A General Interviewer Training Curriculum for Computer-Assisted Personal Interviews (GIT-CAPI) (Version 1.0)

Interviewer training is essential to ensure high-quality data in interviewer-administered surveys. Basically, interviewer training can be divided into general interviewer training which provides interviewers with fundamental knowledge about their role in the data collection process as well as succinct practical advice and project-specific interviewer training which provides additional project-specific qualifications. This survey guideline consists of two parts (I) the introductory and explanatory text and (II) the General Interviewer Training for Computer-Assisted Personal Interviews (GIT-CAPI) Curriculum. The GIT-CAPI aims at offering guidance on how to design, structure, and implement general interview training for Computer-Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI). It includes seven training modules addressing the following topics: (1) procedural view on surveys, (2) quality perspective on surveys, (3) gaining respondents’ cooperation, (4) survey administration and survey instruments, (5) interviewing techniques and fieldwork, (6) professional standards and ethics, data protection and privacy, and (7) a technical tutorial. The GIT-CAPI is written primarily for survey research institutes and large survey projects, but they are also aimed at individual researchers and university research projects to provide them with information on relevant basic interviewer qualifications and allow them to incorporate some modules of the GIT-CAPI into their own interviewer training program. This GIT-CAPI will be revised regularly

Das Zielpersonen-Anschreiben in sozialwissenschaftlichen Befragungen (Version 1.0)

Der Versand des Zielpersonen-Anschreibens markiert in sozialwissenschaftlichen Befragungen in aller Regel den Auftakt der Feldphase. Das Anschreiben dient der Vermittlung des Anliegens, eine Befragung durchführen zu wollen, sowie der Kommunikation von Basisinformationen zur Befragung. Um die Zielperson für eine Teilnahme zu gewinnen, soll es die Zielsetzung der Studie transparent darlegen, ihre Wichtigkeit betonen und die Seriosität des Anliegens vermitteln. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Survey Guideline ist es, einige allgemeine Empfehlungen für das Zielpersonen-Anschreiben zu formulieren. Diese beziehen sich sowohl auf formale als auch auf inhaltliche Aspekte. Zudem werden weitere Merkmale in den Blick genommen, die ebenfalls eine Wirkung darauf haben können, wie das Anschreiben von den Zielpersonen rezipiert wird. Hierzu zählen beispielsweise Spezifikationen seines Versands.In social science surveys, fieldwork is usually initiated by mailing advance or invitation letters to the target persons. The objective of the advance letter is to convey the survey request and provide key information about the survey. In order to gain the target person's co-operation, the advance letter should clarify the purpose of the survey, stress its importance and communicate its seriousness. The aim of this Survey Guideline is to give some recommendations for advance letters, including both formal and content issues. Moreover, this Guideline deals with other features that may affect how target persons perceive the advance letter. This includes, for instance, certain delivery specifications