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1. Switching from telephone to web‐first mixed‐mode data collection: Results from the Transition into Adulthood Supplement to the US Panel Study of Income Dynamics

   https://doi.org/10.1111/rssa.12840  

   Sastry, Narayan; McGonagle, Katherine A. (January 2022, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A (Statistics in Society))

   We conducted an experiment to evaluate the effects on fieldwork outcomes and interview mode of switching to a web-first mixed-mode data collection design (self-administered web interview and interviewer-administered telephone interview) from a telephone-only design. We examine whether the mixed-mode option leads to better survey outcomes, based on response rates, fieldwork outcomes, interview quality and costs. We also examine respondent characteristics associated with completing a web interview rather than a telephone interview. Our mode experiment study was conducted in the 2019 wave of the Transition into Adulthood Supplement (TAS) to the US Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). TAS collects information biennially from approximately 3,000 young adults in PSID families. The shift to a mixed-mode design for TAS was aimed at reducing costs and increasing respondent cooperation. We found that for mixed-mode cases compared to telephone only cases, response rates were higher, interviews were completed faster and with lower effort, the quality of the interview data appeared better, and fieldwork costs were lower. A clear set of respondent characteristics reflecting demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, technology availability and use, time use, and psychological health were associated with completing a web interview rather than a telephone interview. 

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2. Transitioning to a Mixed-Mode Study Design in a National Household Panel Study: Effects on Fieldwork Outcomes, Sample Composition and Costs

   https://doi.org/10.18148/srm/2023.v17i4.8172  

   McGonagle, Katherine A; Sastry, Narayan (December 2023, Survey research methods)

   The U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) made a planned transition to a web-first mixed-mode data collection design in 2021 (web and computer-assisted telephone interviewing [CATI]), following nearly five decades of collecting data primarily using CATI with professional interviewers. To evaluate potential effects of mode on fieldwork outcomes, two sequential mixed-mode protocols were introduced using an experimental design. One protocol randomized sample families to a “web-first” treatment, which encouraged response through an online interview, followed by an offer of telephone to complete the interview; a second protocol randomized sample families to a “CATI-first” treatment until the last phase of fieldwork when the option to complete a web interview was offered. This paper examines the comparative effects of the two protocols on fieldwork outcomes, including response rates, interviewer contact attempts, fieldwork duration, and cost. Comparisons are also made with fieldwork outcomes and characteristics of non-responding sample members from the prior-wave when a traditional telephone design was used. We found that the web-first design compared to the CATI-first design led to comparably high response rates, and faster interview completion with lower effort and cost. With some notable exceptions, compared to the prior wave, the mixed-mode design reduced effort and had generally similar patterns of non-response among key respondent subgroups. The results provide new empirical evidence on the effects of mixing modes on fieldwork outcomes and costs and contribute to the small body of experimental evidence on the use of mixed-mode designs in household panel studies. 

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3. Effects of the COVID-19 crisis on survey fieldwork: Experience and lessons from two major supplements to the U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics

   https://doi.org/10.18148/srm/2020.v14i2.7752  

   Sastry, N.; McGonagle, K.A.; Fomby, P. (January 2020, Survey research methods)

   Two major supplements to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) were in the field during the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States: the 2019 waves of the PSID Child Development Supplement (CDS-19) and the PSID Transition into Adulthood Supplement (TAS-19). Both CDS-19 and TAS-19 abruptly terminated all face-to-face fieldwork and, for TAS-19, shifted interviewers from working in a centralized call center to working from their homes. Overall, COVID-19 had a net negative effect on response rates in CDS-19 and terminated all home visits that represented an important study component. For TAS-19, the overall effect of Covid-19 was uncertain, but negative. The costs were high of adapting to COVID-19 and providing paid time-off benefits to staff affected by the pandemic. Longitudinal surveys, such as CDS, TAS, and PSID, that span the pandemic will provide valuable information on its life course and intergenerational consequences, making ongoing data collection of vital importance. 

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4. The Effects of a Targeted “Early Bird” Incentive Strategy on Response Rates, Fieldwork Effort, and Costs in a National Panel Study

   https://doi.org/10.1093/jssam/smab042  

   McGonagle, Katherine A.; Sastry, Narayan; Freedman, Vicki A. (February 2022, Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology)

   Abstract Adaptive survey designs are increasingly used by survey practitioners to counteract ongoing declines in household survey response rates and manage rising fieldwork costs. This paper reports findings from an evaluation of an early-bird incentive (EBI) experiment targeting high-effort respondents who participate in the 2019 wave of the US Panel Study of Income Dynamics. We identified a subgroup of high-effort respondents at risk of nonresponse based on their prior wave fieldwork effort and randomized them to a treatment offering an extra time-delimited monetary incentive for completing their interview within the first month of data collection (treatment group; N = 800) or the standard study incentive (control group; N = 400). In recent waves, we have found that the costs of the protracted fieldwork needed to complete interviews with high-effort cases in the form of interviewer contact attempts plus an increased incentive near the close of data collection are extremely high. By incentivizing early participation and reducing the number of interviewer contact attempts and fieldwork days to complete the interview, our goal was to manage both nonresponse and survey costs. We found that the EBI treatment increased response rates and reduced fieldwork effort and costs compared to a control group. We review several key findings and limitations, discuss their implications, and identify the next steps for future research. 

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5. Telephone health survey estimates: Effects of nonresponse and sample limitations

   https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13110  

   Fowler, Jr, Floyd J.; Brenner, Philip S.; Buskirk, Trent D.; Roman, Anthony (January 2019, Health Services Research)

   ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to assess nonresponse error in telephone health survey data based on an address‐based sample. Data SourcesTelephone and in‐person interviews in Greater Boston. Study Design/Data CollectionInterviewers attempted telephone interviews at addresses that were matched to telephone numbers using questions drawn from federal health surveys. In‐person household interviews were carried out with telephone nonrespondents and at addresses without matching telephone numbers. Principal FindingsAfter adjusting for demographic differences, only eight of 15 estimates based on the telephone interviews lay within two standard errors of the estimates when data from all three groups were included. ConclusionsFor health surveys of address‐based samples, many estimates based on telephone respondents differ from the total population in ways that cannot be corrected with simple demographic adjustments. 

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