A note on mechanisms leading to lower data quality of late or reluctant respondents

Kreuter, Frauke ; Müller, Gerrit ; Trappmann, Mark

DOI:	https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124113508094
URL:	http://smr.sagepub.com/content/43/3/452
Dokumenttyp:	Zeitschriftenartikel
Erscheinungsjahr:	2014
Titel einer Zeitschrift oder einer Reihe:	Sociological Methods & Research : SMR
Band/Volume:	43
Heft/Issue:	3
Seitenbereich:	452-464
Ort der Veröffentlichung:	Thousand Oaks [u.a.]
Verlag:	Sage Publ.
ISSN:	0049-1241 , 1552-8294
Sprache der Veröffentlichung:	Englisch
Einrichtung:	Fakultät für Sozialwissenschaften > Statistik u. Sozialwissenschaftliche Methodenlehre (Kreuter 2014-2020)
Fachgebiet:	310 Statistik
Freie Schlagwörter (Englisch):	fieldwork , measurement error , nonresponse , recall error
Abstract:	Survey methodologists worry about trade-offs between nonresponse and measurement error. Past findings indicate that respondents brought into the survey late provide low-quality data. The diminished data quality is often attributed to lack of motivation. Quality is often measured through internal indicators and rarely through true scores. Using administrative data for validation purposes, this article documents increased measurement error as a function of recruitment effort for a large-scale employment survey in Germany. In this case study, the reduction in measurement quality of an important target variable is largely caused by differential measurement error in subpopulations and respective shifts in sample composition, as well as increased cognitive burden through the increased length of recall periods among later respondents. Only small portions of the relationship could be attributed to a lack of motivation among late or reluctant respondents.