Publication type
Journal Article
Authors
Publication date
September 15, 2020
Summary:
Measurement and analysis of change is one of the primary reasons to conduct panel surveys, but studies have shown that estimates of change from panel surveys can be subject to measurement error, most commonly overreporting of change. For this reason, many panel surveys use a technique called proactive dependent interviewing, which reminds respondents of their answer in the previous wave and has been shown to reduce the capturing of spurious change. However, so far very little guidance exists in the literature on how such questions should be worded. Here we use data from three experimental studies to examine question wording effects with proactive dependent interviewing. Because we link data from one of the surveys to administrative records, we can examine not only different levels of change by format, but the accuracy of the change reports as well. Our results show that how questions about current status are worded affects the reporting of change. The overall results, including comparisons with administrative records, suggest that reminding respondents of their previous answer and then asking “Is that still the case?” produces the most accurate data on change and stability experienced by respondents.
Published in
Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology
Volume and page numbers
Volume: 8 , p.706 -725
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/jssam/smz021
ISSN
23250984
Subjects
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