Search

The goal of this research was to determine the best way to present mixed-device surveys. We investigate the effect of survey method (messenger versus regular survey), answer scale, device used, and personal characteristics such as gender, age and education on break-off rate, substantive answers, completion time and respondents' evaluation of the survey. Our research does not suggest that a messenger survey affects mixed-device surveys positively. Further research is necessary to investigate how to optimally present mixed-device surveys in order to increase participation and data quality.

While online panels offer numerous advantages, they are often criticized for excluding the offline population. Therefore, some probability-based online panels have developed offline population inclusion strategies. Two dominant approaches prevail: providing internet equipment and offering an alternative survey participation mode. We investigate the impact of these approaches on two probability-based online panels in Germany: the German Internet Panel, which provides members of the offline population with internet equipment, and the GESIS Panel, which offers members of the offline population to participate via postal mail surveys. In addition, we explore the impact of offering an alternative mode only to non-internet users versus also offering the alternative mode to internet users who are unwilling to provide survey data online. Albeit lower recruitment and/or panel wave participation probabilities among offliners than onliners, we find that including the offline population has a positive long-term impact on sample accuracy in both panels. In the GESIS Panel, the positive impact is particularly strong when offering the alternative participation mode to non-internet users and internet users who are unwilling to provide survey data online.

This open access book explores implications of the digital revolution for migration scholars’ methodological toolkit. New information and communication technologies hold considerable potential to improve the quality of migration research by originating previously non-viable solutions to a myriad of methodological challenges in this field of study. Combining cutting-edge migration scholarship and methodological expertise, the book addresses a range of crucial issues related to both researcher-designed data collections and the secondary use of “big data”, highlighting opportunities as well as challenges and limitations. A valuable source for students and scholars engaged in migration research, the book will also be of keen interest to policymakers.

Although list-style open-ended questions generally help us gain deeper insights into respondents’ thoughts, opinions, and behaviors, the quality of responses is often compromised. We tested a dynamic and a follow-up design to motivate respondents to give higher quality responses than with a static design, but without overburdening them. Our results showed that a follow-up design achieved longer responses with more themes and theme areas than a static design. In contrast, the dynamic design produced the shortest answers with the fewest themes and theme areas. No differences in item nonresponse and only minor differences in additional response burden were found among the three list-style designs. Our study shows that design features and timing are crucial to clarify the desired response format and motivate respondents to give high-quality answers to list-style open-ended questions.

Measuring attitudes with vignettes is frequently based on the assumption that the presented context information facilitates a better imagination of topics under study, serving for more valid responses as compared to more usual questionnaire methods. In this study, we focus on the presentation format of vignettes and assume that, in particular, the presentation of photo vignettes facilitates a close context approximation, hereby taking fear of crime from the perspective of broken windows theory as an example of use. A split ballot experiment within the framework of a cross-sectional online survey introduced a variation of the pre­sentation format of a factorial survey experiment and allowed for measuring the difference between using either written vignettes or photo vignettes. While the split ballot experiment used a between-subjects design, each factorial survey experiment used a within-subjects design. The reported level of feelings of unsafety serves as a measure of fear of crime. Re­sults show that, first, all dimensions of the factorial surveys predicted the respective level of fear of crime in both presentation formats, in the direction expected by broken windows theory. Measurement error seems slightly reduced within written vignettes. Second, pre­sentation format-specific differences were observed for dimensions representing physical features of the setting, such as darkness, only, thereby slightly favouring photo vignettes. We finally discuss methodological implications of these results.

Factorial survey experiments (FSEs) are increasingly used in the social sciences. This pa­per provides a review about the use of FSEs and aims to answer three research questions. (1) How has this specific research field developed over time? (2) Which methodological advances have been made in FSE research and to what degree are they applied in empiri­cal studies? (3) Which questions remain unresolved and should be addressed in future re­search? Using the Web of Science and Scopus databases, we conducted a literature review of FSEs published between 1982 and 2018. Our findings show that the field is develop­ing quickly and that FSEs are becoming increasingly accepted in different research areas. Thereby, FSEs are being widely used not only to study attitudes, but also to explore the determinants of behaviour. Most research applies state-of-the-art techniques in terms of statistical analysis; however, to a lesser extent, studies rely on more sophisticated sampling procedures to draw samples from a large vignette universe. Finally, several methodological questions remain unresolved concerning the realism and complexity of vignettes, social desirability, and the predictive validity of FSEs regarding behaviour due to their hypotheti­cal nature. Against this background, we call for more methodological research to assess the general applicability of FSEs for different research areas. Further, our review suggests the need for better documentation and reporting standards to evaluate methodological aspects of FSEs.

Factorial surveys are a prominent tool in the social sciences. Reanalyzing a literature sur­vey on the factorial survey approach (Wallander, 2009), I show that about a quarter of ap­plied factorial surveys asks respondents to provide multiple ratings on the same vignette. This paper is the first to propose a statistical modeling approach for precisely this situation. Data from factorial surveys with multiple ratings per vignette are afflicted with two sourc­es of statistical dependencies. First, each respondent answers multiple vignettes, which is typically accounted for via random effects models, and, second, each vignette prompts multiple ratings. The first problem is common for almost any factorial survey and has been addressed decades ago. The second problem is addressed here. I propose to apply a seem­ingly unrelated regression approach to account for the statistical dependencies between multiple ratings per vignette. Due to the use of a structural equation modeling approach, the model allows not only to correctly compare coefficients across ratings but also to ana­lyze the factor structure underlying these ratings. The proposed model is illustrated by two examples from recent research. All data and syntax are available online and allows for an easy adaption of the proposed model to readers’ own research.

The ease at which online paradata can be captured in web surveys seems to increase social researchers’ desire to collect such data. Yet little attention is paid to whether respondents actually approve of their collection. This article, therefore, studies online survey respondents’ acceptance of automatically collecting their geographical locations. In wave 4 of the German Internet Panel, we asked respondents for their consent to automatically track their location using a JavaScript. Respondents were also asked to report their location in a set of traditional survey questions. About 62 percent of respondents consented to the automated collection of their location whereas 97 percent provided their location manually. With respect to consent biases, we find evidence that the composition of the achieved sample of geo-located respondents is biased and that the personal characteristics associated with respondents’ willingness to be geo-located differ between the automated tracking and manual provision of geo-information.

Purpose: This study investigates perceptions of the use of online tracking, a passive data collection method relying on the automated recording of participant actions on desktop and mobile devices, for studying information behavior. It scrutinizes folk theories of tracking, the concerns tracking raises among the potential participants and design mechanisms that can be used to alleviate these concerns. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses focus groups composed of university students (n = 13) to conduct an in-depth investigation of tracking perceptions in the context of information behavior research. Each focus group addresses three thematic blocks: (1) views on online tracking as a research technique, (2) concerns that influence participants' willingness to be tracked and (3) design mechanisms via which tracking-related concerns can be alleviated. To facilitate the discussion, each focus group combines open questions with card-sorting tasks. The results are analyzed using a combination of deductive content analysis and constant comparison analysis, with the main coding categories corresponding to the thematic blocks listed above. Findings: The study finds that perceptions of tracking are influenced by recent data-related scandals (e.g. Cambridge Analytica), which have amplified negative attitudes toward tracking, which is viewed as a surveillance tool used by corporations and governments. This study also confirms the contextual nature of tracking-related concerns, which vary depending on the activities and content that are tracked. In terms of mechanisms used to address these concerns, this study highlights the importance of transparency-based mechanisms, particularly explanations dealing with the aims and methods of data collection, followed by privacy- and control-based mechanisms. Originality/value: The study conducts a detailed examination of tracking perceptions and discusses how this research method can be used to increase engagement and empower partici

This document describes the background and methodology of the fourth round of the International Self-Report Delinquency study (ISRD4). Drawing from the fields of criminology, public health and cross-national methodology, the ISRD is an ongoing multi-national research study that aims to describe and explain adolescents’ experiences with crime and victimization, to test criminological theories, and to develop recommendations for prevention and interventions. The project relies on a common research protocol, which standardizes questionnaire content and administration, and prescribes comparable sampling procedures in participating countries enabling the collection of common data across all of them. The ISRD4 Study Protocol describes the standard sections of the ISRD4 questionnaire (core and sweep-specific), for both the school-based as well as the internet-based samples. In addition to the core ISRD items, the ISRD4 questionnaire includes new items related to cyber-offending and -victimization, discrimination, and perceptions of violence and revenge motives. The protocol also describes the rationale for including an internet-based survey as a complement to the school-based survey. The document aims to provide a detailed set of guidelines for participating national teams but will also be of interest to researchers interested in youth victimization and offending, theory-testing, and cross-national methodology. Fieldwork in approximately 40 countries began in 2020 and will conclude by the end of 2022.

The German Ageing Survey (DEAS), funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ), is a nationwide representative cross-sectional and longitudinal survey of the German middle-aged and older population. The German Centre of Gerontology in Berlin (DZA) is responsible for the conduct and ongoing development of thestudy. The primary goal of the DEAS survey program is to provide a representative national database containing information describing the living conditions and to study the diversity within the older section of the population, the process of ageing as it affects individuals and processes of social change as they relate to old age and ageing. The DEAS covers a wide range of topics. The data obtained provide information on socioeconomic and demographic attributes as well as household composition, housing, family structure, social networks, psychological resources, attitudes as well as and physical and mental health. The comprehensive examination of people over 40 provides micro data for use both in social and behavioral scientific research and in reporting on social developments. The data thus provides a source of information for decision-makers, the general public and for scientific research. Microdata of the German Ageing Survey (DEAS) are available free of charge to scientific researchers for non-profitable purposes. The Research Data Centre (FDZ-DZA) provides access and support to scholars interested in using DEAS data for their research. Data and documentations from completed DEAS waves are available by the FDZ-DZA (https://www.dza.de/en/research/fdz). However, for reasons of data protection, signing a data distribution contract is required before data can be obtained. The DEAS applies a cohort-sequential design, which allows the users to analyze societal trends and individual trajectories (embedded inside societal trends) and to disentangle age effects from cohort effects. The first DEAS survey wave took place in

Survey research is an integral element of modern social science. The infrastructure in terms of research institute, surveys, conferences and journals has greatly improved over the past 20 years and recently several initiatives have gained momentum even on a European level. This development has brought about the need for an integrated theoretical concept in order to assess and evaluate the quality of surveys and survey estimates. In our view, survey methodology is an interdisciplinary body of knowledge and expertise that describes the "science of conducting and evaluating surveys". It is a theory-driven empirical approach to assess the quality of survey research. Thus, it applies the principles of survey research to the development and assessment of this very method. Even though surveys have been conducted in a highly professional manner for decades, survey methodology offers the opportunity to use a universal theoretical approach when planning and assessing surveys and also a joint terminology. Both, the integrated theoretical concept and the joint terminology foster the professionalization of survey methods and stimulates methodological research on the improvement of survey methods. One key element of survey methodology is the total survey error framework. It shall be described in greater detail below (section 1). Afterwards we will discuss some limitations of this concept (section 2) and mechanisms ad organizational issues in order to promote the use of this concept (section 3).

Between April 2019 and September 2020, 23,001 people aged 15 or over responded to questions about their health and living conditions for the German Health Update (GEDA 2019/2020-EHIS). The results are representative of the German resident population aged 15 or above. The response rate was 21.6%. The study used a questionnaire based on the third wave of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS), which was carried out in all EU member states. EHIS consists of four modules on health status, health care provision, health determinants, and socioeconomic variables. The data are collected in a harmonised manner and therefore have a high degree of international comparability. They constitute an important source of information for European health policy and health reporting and are made available by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat). They also form the basis of the Federal Health Reporting undertaken in Germany. Data collection began in April 2019, just under a year before the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and continued into its initial phase, as of March 2020. As such, data from the current GEDA wave can also be used to conduct research into the health impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

In der Studie Gesundheit in Deutschland aktuell (GEDA 2019/2020-EHIS) beantworteten 23.001 Menschen im Alter ab 15 Jahren zwischen April 2019 und September 2020 Fragen zur Gesundheit und zur Lebenssituation. Die Ergebnisse sind repräsentativ für die in Deutschland lebende Wohnbevölkerung ab 15 Jahren. Die Responserate lag bei 21,6 %. Die Fragebogeninhalte basieren auf der dritten Welle der Europäischen Gesundheitsbefragung (European Health Interview Survey, EHIS), die in allen EU-Mitgliedstaaten durchgeführt wurde. Sie umfasst die vier Module Gesundheitszustand, Gesundheitsversorgung, Gesundheitsdeterminanten und sozioökonomische Variablen. Die harmonisiert erhobenen EHIS-Daten besitzen ein hohes Maß an internationaler Vergleichbarkeit. Sie stellen eine wichtige Informationsgrundlage für die europäische Gesundheitspolitik und -berichterstattung dar und werden vom Statistischen Amt der Europäischen Union (Eurostat) zur Verfügung gestellt. Die Daten sind Grundlage für die Gesundheitsberichterstattung des Bundes. Der Zeitraum der Datenerhebung ab April 2019 berücksichtigte knapp ein Jahr vor der SARS-CoV-2-Pandemie und fiel dann ab März 2020 in die Anfangsphase der Pandemie. Somit stehen mit der aktuellen GEDA-Welle Daten für die Erforschung von gesundheitlichen Auswirkungen im zeitlichen Zusammenhang mit der SARS-CoV-2-Pandemie zur Verfügung.

Bei der Evaluation von sozialen Programmen, wie etwa im Bereich der Extremismus­prävention, kann es förderlich sein, mehrere Forschungs­methoden (Multimethodik) und Akteurs­perspektiven (Multi­perspektivität) einzubeziehen, um dem Evaluations­gegenstand gerecht zu werden. In der Umsetzung können multi­methodische Evaluationen jedoch unterschiedlich aussehen. Der vorliegende Report beschreibt auf Basis einer umfangreichen Analyse publizierter Evaluationen, wie Multi­methodik und Multi­perspektivität in der Breite der sozial­wissenschaftlichen Evaluations­forschung umgesetzt werden. Der Report vergleicht die Umsetzung von Multimethodik und Multi­perspektivität über verschiedene Disziplinen wie Bildung, Gesundheit, Politik, Kommunikation und Justiz hinweg und bietet damit eine Orientierungs­hilfe für ein entsprechendes Vorgehen bei der Evaluation in der Extremismus­prävention.

Bislang gibt es keine akkuraten, repräsentativen Statistiken dazu, welche Sprachen in Deutschland gesprochen werden. Zwar wird in verschiedenen Erhebungen nach Muttersprachen oder nach zuhause gesprochenen Sprachen gefragt; aufgrund einiger Mängel im Erhebungsdesign bilden die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden Erhebungen jedoch die sprachliche Realität der in Deutschland lebenden Bevölkerung nicht angemessen ab. Im Beitrag wird anhand von drei Erhebungen gezeigt, dass bereits die Instrumente zur Erhebung von Sprache von Spracheinstellungen geprägt sind und dass dadurch die Gültigkeit der Ergebnisse stark eingeschränkt wird. Diese Mängel gelten für Sprachstatistiken im Hinblick auf die gesamte Bevölkerung Deutschlands - Kinder und Jugendliche eingeschlossen., To date, there are no accurate, representative statistics on languages spoken in Germany. Various surveys ask about mother tongues or languages spoken at home. However, due to shortcomings in the design of the items, the results of these surveys do not adequately reflect the linguistic reality of the population living in Germany. On the basis of three surveys, this paper illustrates that instruments used to survey language are often influenced by attitudes towards languages. Thus the results of these surveys are strongly limited. These limitations apply to language statistics for the entire population of Germany - therefore also for children and adolescents.

Respondent driven sampling (RDS) is a network sampling technique typically employed for hard-to-reach populations (e.g. drug users, men who have sex with men, people with HIV). Similar to snowball sampling, initial seed respondents recruit additional respondents from their network of friends. The recruiting process repeats iteratively, thereby forming long referral chains. Unlike in snowball sampling, it is crucial to obtain estimates of respondents' personal network size (i.e., number of acquaintances in the target population) and information about who recruited whom. Markov chain theory makes it possible to derive population estimates and sampling weights. We introduce a new Stata program for RDS and illustrate its use.

Changes in communication technology have allowed for the expansion of data collection modes in survey research. The proliferation of the computer has allowed the creation of web and computer assisted auto-interview data collection modes. Virtual worlds are a new application of computer technology that once again expands the data collection modes by VASI (Virtual Assisted Self Interviewing). The Virtual Data Collection Interface (VDCI) developed at Indiana University in collaboration with the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) allows survey researchers access to the population of virtual worlds in fully immersive Heads-up Display (HUD)-based survey instruments. This expansion needs careful consideration for its applicability to the researcher's question but offers a high level of data integrity and expanded survey availability and automation. Current open questions of the VASI method are an optimal sampling frame and sampling procedures within e. g. a virtual world like Second Life (SL). Further multimodal studies are proposed to aid in evaluating the VDCI and placing it in context of other data collection modes.

Der Zensus 2011 war zur Entlastung der Auskunftspflichtigen und zur Reduzierung der Kosten ein registergestützter Zensus, bei dem im Gegensatz zu früheren Volkszählungen nicht alle Personen und Haushalte befragt wurden. Der Zensus 2011 hat dabei unterschiedliche Datenquellen genutzt und unterschiedliche Erhebungsverfahren eingesetzt. Damit hat sich ein breites Spektrum an Auswertungsmöglichkeiten ergeben. Neben den Einwohnerzahlen konnten im Mai 2013 bereits weitere erste Ergebnisse vor dem Abschluss aller Arbeiten am Zensus 2011 erstellt und veröffentlicht werden. Zur Erstellung der endgültigen Ergebnisse wurden weitere Informationen genutzt, zum Teil beruhten die endgültigen Ergebnisse im Mai 2014 auf anderen Datenquellen und anderen Berechnungsverfahren. Anhand von Boxplots über die Gemeinden Deutschlands ab 10.000 Einwohner werden die aus den genannten methodischen Unterschieden resultierenden Divergenzen in den Ergebnissen für ausgewählte Merkmale dargestellt., The German census 2011 has been a register based census. Deviant from former "Volkszählungen" not all persons and households has been surveyed to discharge respondents and to save costs. Therefore the Census 2011 has used different data sources and different methods of survey. This has opened a wide spectrum of potential analysis. In addition to the population size first results had already been compiled and published in May 2013 before the data processing was completed. For final results additional information had been included. In parts the final results in May 2014 were based on other data sources and other methods of calculation. Boxplots on German municipalities with at least 10,000 inhabitants show the divergences in the results due to different methods of survey and analysis for selected variables.

This article addresses the comparability of sampling and fieldwork with an analysis of methodological data describing 1,537 national surveys from five major comparative cross-national survey projects in Europe carried out in the period from 1981 to 2017. We describe the variation in the quality of the survey documentation, and in the survey methodologies themselves, focusing on survey procedures with respect to: 1) sampling frames, 2) types of survey samples and sampling designs, 3) within-household selection of target persons in address-based samples, 4) fieldwork execution and 5) fieldwork outcome rates. Our results show substantial differences in sample designs and fieldwork procedures across survey projects, as well as changes within projects over time. This variation invites caution when selecting data for analysis. We conclude with recommendations regarding the use of information about the survey process to select existing survey data for comparative analyses.

The German Ageing Survey (DEAS) is a nationwide representative cross-sectional and longitudinal survey of the German population aged over 40. It is funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ). The German Centre of Gerontology in Berlin (DZA) is responsible for the conduct and ongoing development of the study. Sampling and fieldwork for all waves (1996-2020) has been carried out by the Bonn-based Institute for Applied Social Sciences (infas). The primary goal of the DEAS survey program is to provide a representative national database containing information describing the living conditions of the country’s middle-aged and older population and to study diversity within the older section of the population, the process of ageing as it affects individuals and processes of social change as they relate to old age and ageing. The DEAS covers a wide range of topics. The data obtained provide information on socioeconomic and demographic attributes as well as household composition, housing, family structure, social networks, psychological resources, attitudes as well as and physical and mental health. The comprehensive examination of people in mid- and older adulthood provides microdata for use both in social and behavioural scientific research and in reporting on social developments. The data thus provides a source of information for decision-makers, the general public and for scientific research. The DEAS applies a cohort-sequential design, which allows the users to analyze societal trends and individual trajectories (embedded inside societal trends) and to disentangle age effects from cohort effects. The first DEAS survey wave took place in 1996, further waves followed in 2002, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2017 and 2020. The third wave of the survey in 2008 considered a panel sample of study participants, who had entered the DEAS earlier as well as a new sample of adults, aged 40 to 85 years. Microdata of the German Ageing Survey (DEAS)

Der Deutsche Alterssurvey (DEAS) ist eine vom Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend (BMFSFJ) geförderte Langzeitstudie des Deutschen Zentrums für Altersfragen (DZA) zum Wandel der Lebenssituationen und Alternsverläufe von Menschen, die sich in der zweiten Lebenshälfte befinden. Grundlage sind bundesweit repräsentative Befragungen im Quer- und Längsschnitt von jeweils mehreren tausend Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmern im Alter ab 40 Jahren. Die beteiligten Personen werden umfassend zu ihren objektiven und subjektiven Lebensbedingungen befragt. Hinzu kommen Testverfahren zur Erhebung der kognitiven Leistungsfähigkeit und körperlichen Gesundheit. Aufgrund seines kohortensequenziellen Längsschnittdesigns, seiner Themenbreite, seiner nationalen Repräsentativität mit vergleichsweise hoher Fallzahl und der bereits relativ langen Beobachtungsdauer stellt der DEAS eine in Deutschland einzigartige Datenquelle zur interdisziplinären Erforschung der Lebenssituationen und Lebensverläufe sowie der subjektiven Sichtweisen und Lebenspläne älterwerdender und alter Menschen dar.

The German Ageing Survey (DEAS) is a nationwide representative cross-sectional and longitudinal survey of the German population aged over 40. It is funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ). The German Centre of Gerontology in Berlin (DZA) is responsible for the conduct and ongoing development of the study. Sampling and fieldwork for all waves (1996-2020) has been carried out by the Bonn-based Institute for Applied Social Sciences (infas). The primary goal of the DEAS survey program is to provide a representative national database containing information describing the living conditions of the country's middle-aged and older population and to study diversity within the older section of the population, the process of ageing as it affects individuals and processes of social change as they relate to old age and ageing. The DEAS covers a wide range of topics. The data obtained provide information on socioeconomic and demographic attributes as well as household composition, housing, family structure, social networks, psychological resources, attitudes as well as and physical and mental health. The comprehensive examination of people in mid- and older adulthood provides microdata for use both in social and behavioral scientific research and in reporting on social developments. The data thus provides a source of information for decision-makers, the general public and for scientific research. The DEAS applies a cohort-sequential design, which allows the users to analyze societal trends and individual trajectories (embedded inside societal trends) and to disentangle age effects from cohort effects. The first DEAS survey wave took place in 1996, further waves followed in 2002, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2017 and 2020. The 4th wave of the survey in 2011 considered a panel sample of study participants, who had entered the DEAS earlier.