Difficulty to Reach Respondents and Nonresponse Bias: Evidence from Large Government Surveys

Nonresponse Rates and Nonresponse Bias In Household Surveys

Many surveys of the U.S. household population are experiencing higher refusal rates. Nonresponse can, but need not, induce nonresponse bias in survey estimates. Recent empirical findings illustrate cases when the linkage between nonresponse rates and nonresponse biases is absent. Despite this, professional standards continue to urge high response rates. Statistical expressions of nonresponse bi...

Designing Surveys Acknowledging Nonresponse

Multilevel Modelling of Refusal and Noncontact in Household Surveys: Evidence from Six UK Government Surveys

In this paper we analyse household unit nonresponse in six major UK government surveys using a multilevel multinomial modelling approach. The models are guided by current conceptual frameworks and theories of survey participation. One key feature of the analysis is the investigation of the extent to which effects of household characteristics are survey specific. The analysis is based on the 200...

Survey Participation, Nonresponse Bias, Measurement Error Bias, and Total Bias

A common hypothesis about practices to reduce survey nonresponse is that those persons brought into the respondent pool through persuasive efforts may provide data filled with measurement error. Two questions flow from this hypothesis. First, does the mean square error of a statistic increase when sample persons who are less likely to be contacted or cooperate are incorporated into the responde...

Nonrespondents and Nonresponse Bias: Evidence from a Survey of Former Welfare Recipients in Iowa

iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The study of nonresponse in the survey of families that left Iowa's TANF program was conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., (MPR) with funding from The Joyce Foundation, Smith Richardson Foundation, and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We thank these organizations for their ...