Bella Struminskaya

Respondent Conditioning in Online Panel Surveys

In this article, we investigate changes in survey reporting due to prior interviewing. Two field experiments were implemented in a probability-based online panel in which the order of the questionnaires was switched. Although experimental methods for studying panel conditioning are favorable, experiments in longitudinal studies are rare. Studies on conditioning demand additional resources and might influence respondents’ answers. Panel conditioning is mostly associated with measurement errors. However, the discussion that sees it exclusively as a negative phenomenon is not comprehensive. Learning the rules of the interview may lead to increases or decreases in data quality (advantageous vs. disadvantageous conditioning). Overall, little evidence of advantageous conditioning and no disadvantageous conditioning is found. Apart from this reassuring finding, this aricle advances the field by using propensity score weighting to account for attrition and other confounding factors and by using paradata to evaluate the plausibility of alternative explanations of panel conditioning.

Establishing an Open Probability-Based Mixed-Mode Panel of the General Population in Germany: The GESIS Panel

Various open probability-based panel infrastructures have been established in recent years, allowing researchers to collect high-quality survey data. In this report, we describe the processes and deliverables of setting up the GESIS Panel, the first probability-based mixed-mode panel infrastructure in Germany open for data collection to the academic research community. The reference population for the GESIS Panel is the German-speaking population aged between 18 and 70 years permanently residing in Germany. In 2013, approximately 5,000 panelists had been recruited from a random sample drawn from municipal population registers. We describe the outcomes of the sampling strategy and the multistep recruitment process, involving computer-aided personal interviews conducted at respondents’ homes. Next, we describe the outcomes of the two self-administered survey modes (online and paper-and-pencil) of the GESIS Panel used for the initial profile survey and all subsequent bimonthly data collection waves. Across all stages of setting up the GESIS Panel, we report sample composition discrepancies for key demographic variables between the GESIS Panel and established benchmark surveys. Overall, the findings highlight the usefulness of pursuing a mixed-mode strategy when building a probability-based panel infrastructure in Germany.

Does panel conditioning affect data quality in ego-centered social network questions?

Abstract This article investigates the data quality of ego-centered social network modules in web surveys. It specifically examines whether these modules are subject to the effects of the repeated measurement of the same questions known as panel conditioning effects. Ego-centered social network modules are especially at risk of panel conditioning effects because many of the components in these modules are repetitive. Based on the theories of motivated underreporting and survey satisficing, we hypothesized that respondents reduce the length of the module by underreporting their network size and/or network density. To systematically test for panel conditioning effects, we experimentally varied the treatment frequency in a longitudinal study design, which included three panel waves. The results of our study showed that we generally obtained high quality data with relatively large reported network sizes and densities, low rates of item non-response, and low non-differentiation. In contrast to our expectations, the reported average network sizes were not smaller, and the network densities were not lower when respondents were asked to answer the same social network module multiple times. We found, however, patterns of individual change in network sizes that might be due to panel conditioning. Respondents with large network sizes in a panel wave reported smaller network sizes in the subsequent wave, while respondents with small network sizes reported larger network sizes in the subsequent wave. Respondents’ ability and motivation did not affect these results. Thus, we would like to encourage researchers to further explore the opportunity of implementing ego-centered social network modules in cross-sectional as well as longitudinal self-administered surveys, while being cautious that in longitudinal surveys the chance of panel conditioning effects may increase with the average network size and the response burden of the network module.

Leitfaden zur Erstellung einer Leistungsbeschreibung für die Ausschreibung von Interviewer-administrierten Befragungen

Die Durchfuhrung quantitativer Befragungen wird im Rahmen von Forschungsprojekten haufig an Umfrageinstitute ausgelagert. Die Leistungen werden dann meist ausgeschrieben, um Angebote verschiedener Institute einzuholen. In der Regel umfasst die Ausschreibung eine Leistungsbeschreibung, in der die zu erbringenden Dienstleistungen beschrieben werden. Ziel dieses Leitfadens ist es, die Erstellung einer detaillierten Leistungsbeschreibung fur die Ausschreibung von Interviewer-administrierten Befragungen zu unterstutzen. Der Fokus des Leitfadens liegt auf der Ausschreibung personlich-mundlicher Befragungen, er kann jedoch auch bei der Ausschreibung von telefonischen Befragungen als Grundlage dienen.