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Madhavan leads team to study kinship effects
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Five-year R01 project will examine kin relationships in Nairobi, Kenya
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News
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Child care editorial draws on research by Philip Cohen
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Finds fault with 2021 Homebuilding survey by American Compass
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News
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Dennis Feehan, UC Berkeley
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Comparing survey-based estimates of adult mortality to high-quality vital records: Evidence from 27 Brazilian cities
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Coming Up
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Global Trends of Mask Usage in 19 Million Adults
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Faculty Associate Frauke Kreuter and colleagues are using large scale data gathered on Facebook to get a sense of public understanding about mask-wearing
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Research
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Selected Research
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The effect of framing and placement on linkage consent
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Numerous surveys link interview data to administrative records, conditional on respondent consent, in order to explore new and innovative research questions. Optimizing the linkage consent rate is a critical step toward realizing the scientific advantages of record linkage and minimizing the risk of linkage consent bias. Linkage consent rates have been shown to be particularly sensitive to certain design features, such as where the consent question is placed in the questionnaire and how the question is framed. However, the interaction of these design features and their relative contributions to the linkage consent rate have never been jointly studied, raising the practical question of which design feature (or combination of features) should be prioritized from a consent rate perspective. We address this knowledge gap by reporting the results of a placement and framing experiment embedded within separate telephone and Web surveys. We find a significant interaction between placement and framing of the linkage consent question on the consent rate. The effect of placement was larger than the effect of framing in both surveys, and the effect of framing was only evident in the Web survey when the consent question was placed at the end of the questionnaire. Both design features had negligible impact on linkage consent bias for a series of administrative variables available for consenters and non-consenters. We conclude this research note with guidance on the optimal administration of the linkage consent question.
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MPRC People
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Frauke Kreuter, Ph.D.
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Frauke Kreuter Publications
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Predicting Voting Behavior Using Digital Trace Data
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A major concern arising from ubiquitous tracking of individuals’ online activity is that algorithms may be trained to predict personal sensitive information, even for users who do not wish to reveal such information. Although previous research has shown that digital trace data can accurately predict sociodemographic characteristics, little is known about the potentials of such data to predict sensitive outcomes. Against this background, we investigate in this article whether we can accurately predict voting behavior, which is considered personal sensitive information in Germany and subject to strict privacy regulations. Using records of web browsing and mobile device usage of about 2,000 online users eligible to vote in the 2017 German federal election combined with survey data from the same individuals, we find that online activities do not predict (self-reported) voting well in this population. These findings add to the debate about users’ limited control over (inaccurate) personal information flows.
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MPRC People
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Frauke Kreuter, Ph.D.
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Frauke Kreuter Publications
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Does Benefit Framing Improve Record Linkage Consent Rates? A Survey Experiment
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Survey researchers are increasingly seeking opportunities to link interview data with administrative records. However, obtaining consent from all survey respondents (or certain subgroups) remains a barrier to performing record linkage in many studies. We experimentally investigated whether emphasizing different benefits of record linkage to respondents in a telephone survey of employee working conditions improves respondents’ willingness to consent to linkage of employment administrative records relative to a neutral consent request. We found that emphasizing linkage benefits related to “time savings” yielded a small, albeit statistically significant, improvement in the overall linkage consent rate (86.0) relative to the neutral consent request (83.8 percent). The time savings argument was particularly effective among “busy” respondents. A second benefit argument related to “improved study value” did not yield a statistically significant improvement in the linkage consent rate (84.4 percent) relative to the neutral request. This benefit argument was also ineffective among the subgroup of respondents considered to be most likely to have a self-interest in the study outcomes. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the practical implications of these findings and offers suggestions for possible research extensions.
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MPRC People
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Frauke Kreuter, Ph.D.
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Frauke Kreuter Publications
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The Relationship between Interviewer-Respondent Rapport and Data Quality
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Interviewer-respondent rapport is generally considered to be beneficial for the quality of the data collected in survey interviews; however, the relationship between rapport and data quality has rarely been directly investigated. We conducted a laboratory experiment in which eight professional interviewers interviewed 125 respondents to see how the rapport between interviewers and respondents is associated with the quality of data—primarily disclosure of sensitive information—collected in these interviews. It is possible that increased rapport between interviewers and respondents might motivate respondents to be more conscientious, increasing disclosure; alternatively, increased rapport might inhibit disclosure because presenting oneself unfavorably is more aversive if respondents have a positive relationship with the interviewer. More specifically, we examined three issues: (1) what the relationship is between rapport and the disclosure of information of varying levels of sensitivity, (2) how rapport is associated with item nonresponse, and (3) whether rapport can be similarly established in video-mediated and computer-assisted personal interviews (CAPIs). We found that (1) increased respondents’ sense of rapport increased disclosure for questions that are highly sensitive compared with questions about topics of moderate sensitivity; (2) increased respondents’ sense of rapport is not associated with a higher level of item nonresponse; and (3) there was no significant difference in respondents’ rapport ratings between video-mediated and CAPI, suggesting that rapport is just as well established in video-mediated interviews as it is in CAPI.
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MPRC People
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Frauke Kreuter, Ph.D.
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Frauke Kreuter Publications
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Coverage Error in Data Collection Combining Mobile Surveys With Passive Measurement Using Apps: Data From a German National Survey
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Researchers are combining self-reports from mobile surveys with passive data collection using sensors and apps on smartphones increasingly more often. While smartphones are commonly used in some groups of individuals, smartphone penetration is significantly lower in other groups. In addition, different operating systems (OSs) limit how mobile data can be collected passively. These limitations cause concern about coverage error in studies targeting the general population. Based on data from the Panel Study Labour Market and Social Security (PASS), an annual probability-based mixed-mode survey on the labor market and poverty in Germany, we find that smartphone ownership and ownership of smartphones with specific OSs are correlated with a number of sociodemographic and substantive variables.
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MPRC People
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Frauke Kreuter, Ph.D.
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Frauke Kreuter Publications
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A Conversation with Robert Groves
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Professor Robert M. Groves is among the world leaders in survey methodology and survey statistics over the last four decades. Groves’ research—particularly on survey nonresponse, survey errors and costs, and responsive design—helped to provide intellectual footing for a new academic discipline. In addition, Groves has had remarkable success building academic programs that integrate the social sciences with statistics and computer science. He was instrumental in the development of degree programs in survey methodology at the University of Michigan and the University of Maryland. Recently, as Provost of Georgetown University, he has championed the use of big data sets to increase understanding of society and human behavior. Between his academic tenures, Groves served as Director of the US Census Bureau. Professor Groves is an elected fellow of the American Statistical Association, elected member of the International Statistical Institute, elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, elected member of the US National Academy of Sciences, elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the US National Academies and presidential appointed member of the National Science Board. The interview was conducted in early 2016 at Georgetown University.
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MPRC People
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Partha Lahiri, Ph.D.
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Partha Lahiri Publications