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Interviewers’ ratings of survey respondents’ health (IRH) are a promising measure of health to include in surveys as a complementary measure to self-rated health. However, our understanding of the factors contributing to IRH remains incomplete. This is the first study to examine whether and how it matters when in the interview interviewers evaluate respondents’ health in a face-to-face survey, in an experiment embedded in the UK Innovation Panel Study. We find that interviewers are more likely to rate the respondent’s health as “excellent” when IRH is rated at the end of the interview compared to the beginning. Drawing from the continuum model of impression formation, we examined whether associations between IRH and relevant covariates vary depending on placement in interview. We find that across several characteristics of interviewers and respondents, only the number of interviews completed by interviewers varies by IRH assessment location in its effect on IRH. We also find evidence that interviewer variance is lower when IRH is assessed prior to compared to after the interview. Finally, the location of IRH assessment does not impact the concurrent or predictive validity of IRH. Overall, the results suggest that in a general population study with some health questions, there may be benefits to having interviewers rate respondents’ health at the beginning of the interview (rather than at the end as in prior research) in terms of lower interviewer variance, particularly in the absence of interviewer training that mitigates the impact of within-study experience on IRH assessments.

Medical research literacy (MRL) is a facet of health literacy that measures a person’s understanding of informed consent and other aspects of participation in medical research. While existing research on MRL is limited, there are reasons to believe MRL may be associated with a willingness to participate in medical research. We use data from a racially balanced sample of survey respondents (n = 410): (1) to analyze how MRL scores vary by respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics; (2) to examine how MRL relates to respondents’ expressed likelihood to participate in a clinical trial; and (3) to provide considerations on the measurement of MRL. The results indicate no differences in MRL scores by race or gender; younger (p < 0.05) and more educated (p < 0.001) individuals have significantly higher MRL scores. Further, higher MRL scores are associated with significantly lower levels of expressed likelihood to participate in a clinical trial. Additionally, the MRL scale included both true and false statements, and analyses demonstrate significant differences in how these relate to outcomes. Altogether, the results signal that further research is needed to understand MRL and how it relates to socio-demographic characteristics associated with research participation and can be measured effectively.

Ethnoracial identity refers to the racial and ethnic categories that people use to classify themselves and others. How it is measured in surveys has implications for understanding inequalities. Yet how people self-identify may not conform to the categories standardized survey questions use to measure ethnicity and race, leading to potential measurement error. In interviewer-administered surveys, answers to survey questions are achieved through interviewer–respondent interaction. An analysis of interviewer–respondent interaction can illuminate whether, when, how, and why respondents experience problems with questions. In this study, we examine how indicators of interviewer–respondent interactional problems vary across ethnoracial groups when respondents answer questions about ethnicity and race. Further, we explore how interviewers respond in the presence of these interactional problems. Data are provided by the 2013–2014 Voices Heard Survey, a computer-assisted telephone survey designed to measure perceptions of participating in medical research among an ethnoracially diverse sample of respondents.

While collecting high quality data from physicians is critical, response rates for physician surveys are frequently low. A proven method for increasing response in mail surveys is to provide a small, prepaid monetary incentive in the initial mailing. More recently, researchers have begun experimenting with adding a second cash incentive in a follow-up contact in order to increase participation among more reluctant respondents. To assess the effects of sequential incentives on response rates, data quality, sample representativeness, and costs, physicians (N = 1,500) were randomly assigned to treatments that crossed the amount of a first ($5 or $10) and second ($0, $5, or $10) incentive to form the following groups: Group $5/$5; Group $5/$10; Group $10/$0; Group $10/$5; and Group $10/$10. Overall, second incentives were associated with higher response rates and lower costs per completed survey, and while they had no effect on item nonresponse, they increased sample representativeness.

We describe interviewers’ actions in phone calls recruiting sample members. We illustrate (1) analytic challenges of studying how interviewers affect participation and (2) actions that undergird the variables in our models. We examine the impact of the interviewer’s disfluencies on whether a sample member accepts or declines the request for an interview as a case study. Disfluencies are potentially important if they communicate the competence or humanity of the interviewer to the sample member in a way that affects the decision to participate. Using the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, we find that although as they begin, calls that become declinations are similar to those that become acceptances, they soon take different paths. Considering all recruitment actions together, we find that the ratio of disfluencies to words does not predict acceptance of the request for an interview, although the disfluency ratio before the turning point – request to participate or a declination – of the call does. However, after controlling for the number of actions, the disfluency ratio no longer predicts participation. Instead, when we examine actions before and after the first turning point separately, we find that the number of actions has a positive relationship with participation before and a negative relationship after.

Acceptance of animal research by the public depends on several characteristics of the specific experimental study. In particular, acceptance decreases as potential animal pain or distress increases. Our objective in this study was to quantify the magnitude of pain/distress that university undergraduate students and faculty would find to be justifiable in animal research, and to see how that justifiability varied according to the purpose of the research, or the species to which the animal belonged. We also evaluate how demographic characteristics of respondents may be associated with their opinions about justifiability. To accomplish this goal, we developed and administered a survey to students and faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Our survey employed Likert-style questions that asked them to designate the level of animal pain or distress that they felt was justifiable for each of the following six purposes—animal disease, human disease, basic research, human medicine, chemical testing, or cosmetic testing. These questions were asked about five different species of animals including monkeys, dogs/cats, pig/sheep, rats/mice, or small fish. We used the data to establish a purpose-specific pain/distress scale, a species-specific pain/distress scale, and a composite pain/distress scale that, for each respondent, averaged the extent of justifiable pain/distress across all purposes and species. For purpose, students were more likely to choose higher levels of pain for animal disease research, followed by human disease, basic research, human medicine, chemical testing, and cosmetic testing. Faculty were more likely to choose the same level of pain for the first four purposes, followed by lower levels of pain for chemical and cosmetic testing. For species, students were more likely to choose higher levels of pain for small fish and rats/mice (tied), pigs/sheep and monkeys (tied), than for dogs/cats. For faculty, order from least to most justifiable pain/distress was small fish, rats/mice, pigs/sheep, then dogs/cats and monkeys (the latter two tied). Interestingly, exploratory factor analysis of the pain/distress scales indicated that when it comes to justifying higher levels of pain and distress, respondents identified two distinct categories of purposes, chemical and cosmetic testing, for which respondents were less likely to justify higher levels of pain or distress as compared to other purposes; and two distinct categories of species, small fish and rats/mice, for which respondents were more likely to justify higher levels of pain/distress than other species. We found that the spread of acceptance of animal research was much smaller when survey questions included pain/distress compared to when only purpose or species were part of the question. Demographically, women, vegetarians/vegans, and respondents with no experience in animal research justified less animal pain/distress than their counterparts. Not surprisingly, a lower level of support for animal research in general was correlated with lower justifiability of pain/distress. Based on these findings, we discuss the role of animal pain/distress in regulatory considerations underlying decisions about whether to approve specific animal uses, and suggest ways to strengthen the ethical review and public acceptance of animal research.

Agree-disagree (AD) or Likert questions (e.g., “I am extremely satisfied: strongly agree … strongly disagree”) are among the most frequently used response formats to measure attitudes and opinions in the social and medical sciences. This review and research synthesis focuses on the measurement properties and potential limitations of AD questions. The research leads us to advocate for an alternative questioning strategy in which items are written to directly ask about their underlying response dimensions using response categories tailored to match the response dimension, which we refer to as item-specific (IS) (e.g., “How satisfied are you: not at all … extremely”). In this review we: 1) synthesize past research comparing data quality for AD and IS questions; 2) present conceptual models of and review research supporting respondents' cognitive processing of AD and IS questions; and 3) provide an overview of question characteristics that frequently differ between AD and IS questions and may affect respondents’ cognitive processing and data quality. Although experimental studies directly comparing AD and IS questions yield some mixed results, more studies find IS questions are associated with desirable data quality outcomes (e.g., validity and reliability) and AD questions are associated with undesirable outcomes (e.g., acquiescence, response effects, etc.). Based on available research, models of cognitive processing, and a review of question characteristics, we recommended IS questions over AD questions for most purposes. For researchers considering the use of previously administered AD questions and instruments, issues surrounding the challenges of translating questions from AD to IS response formats are discussed.

While scales measuring subjective constructs historically rely on agree-disagree (AD) questions, recent research demonstrates that construct-specific (CS) questions clarify underlying response dimensions that AD questions leave implicit and CS questions often yield higher measures of data quality. Given acknowledged issues with AD questions and certain established advantages of CS items, the evidence for the superiority of CS questions is more mixed than one might expect. We build on previous investigations by using cognitive interviewing to deepen understanding of AD and CS response processing and potential sources of measurement error. We randomized 64 participants to receive an AD or CS version of a scale measuring trust in medical researchers. We examine several indicators of data quality and cognitive response processing including: reliability, concurrent validity, recency, response latencies, and indicators of response processing difficulties (e.g., uncodable answers). Overall, results indicate reliability is higher for the AD scale, neither scale is more valid, and the CS scale is more susceptible to recency effects for certain questions. Results for response latencies and behavioral indicators provide evidence that the CS questions promote deeper processing. Qualitative analysis reveals five sources of difficulties with response processing that shed light on under-examined reasons why AD and CS questions can produce different results, with CS not always yielding higher measures of data quality than AD.

Best practices in mail survey design advise personalizing correspondence, but most research predates the use of address-based sampling (ABS) in which a householder’s name either cannot be matched to an address or may be matched incorrectly. Further, recent evidence casts doubt on the effectiveness of personalization. The current study examines the impact of using a personalized versus a generic salutation on response rates and data quality in an ABS mail survey of the general population. A sample of 2,000 household addresses in Wisconsin was randomly selected from the U.S. Postal Service Delivery Sequence File. For households in the personalized salutation group, all materials used the surname of the household; cases in the generic salutation group referred to the state conducting the survey. While personalization was not related to response rates, it was associated with higher levels of item nonresponse. Findings support current recommendations not to use names in ABS mail surveys.

Interviewer Effects from a Total Survey Error Perspective presents a comprehensive collection of state-of-the-art research on interviewer-administered survey data collection. Interviewers play an essential role in the collection of the high-quality survey data used to learn about our society and improve the human condition. Although many surveys are conducted using self-administered modes, interviewer-administered modes continue to be optimal for surveys that require high levels of participation, include difficult-to-survey populations, and collect biophysical data. Survey interviewing is complex, multifaceted, and challenging. Interviewers are responsible for locating sampled units, contacting sampled individuals and convincing them to cooperate, asking questions on a variety of topics, collecting other kinds of data, and providing data about respondents and the interview environment. Careful attention to the methodology that underlies survey interviewing is essential for interviewer-administered data collections to succeed. In 2019, survey methodologists, survey practitioners, and survey operations specialists participated in an international workshop at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to identify best practices for surveys employing interviewers and outline an agenda for future methodological research. This book features 23 chapters on survey interviewing by these worldwide leaders in the theory and practice of survey interviewing. Chapters include: The legacy of Dr. Charles F. Cannell's groundbreaking research on training survey interviewers and the theory of survey interviewing Best practices for training survey interviewers Interviewer management and monitoring during data collection The complex effects of interviewers on survey nonresponse Collecting survey measures and survey paradata in different modes Designing studies to estimate and evaluate interviewer effects Best practices for analyzing interviewer effects Key gaps in the research literature, including an agenda for future methodological research Written for managers of survey interviewers, survey methodologists, and students interested in the survey data collection process, this unique reference uses the Total Survey Error framework to examine optimal approaches to survey interviewing, presenting state-of-the-art methodological research on all stages of the survey process involving interviewers. Acknowledging the important history of survey interviewing while looking to the future, this one-of-a-kind reference provides researchers and practitioners with a roadmap for maximizing data quality in interviewer-administered surveys.

In an increasing number of surveys, interviewers are tasked with collecting blood, saliva, and other biomeasures, and asking survey respondents for consent to link survey data to administrative records. Errors introduced by interviewers can take the form of bias or variance. Early research found that interviewers vary in how they administer survey questions and that their effects were similar to sample clusters in both face-to-face and telephone surveys. Given the nesting of respondents within interviewers, hierarchical or random effects models have long been used for the study of interviewer effects. Multilevel models are flexible and can be used to infer whether interviewer effects differ across subgroups of items, respondents, and interviewers. At the bare minimum, an anonymized interviewer ID variable on data files would allow analysts to estimate interviewer variance components. Additional data on interviewers, extending beyond simply demographics and experience, would facilitate understanding the mechanisms by which interviewers affect survey data.

Features of the survey measurement process may affect responses from respondents in various racial, ethnic, or cultural groups in different ways. When responses from multiethnic populations are combined, such variability in responding could increase variable error or bias results. The current study examines the survey response process among Black and White respondents answering questions about trust in medical researchers and participation in medical research. Using transcriptions from telephone interviews, we code a rich set of behaviors produced by respondents that past research has shown to be associated with measurement error, including long question-answer sequences, uncodable answers, requests for repetition or clarification, affective responses, and tokens. In analysis, we test for differences between Black and White respondents in the likelihood with which behaviors occur and examine whether the behaviors vary by specific categorizations of the questions, including whether the questions are racially focused. Overall, we find that White respondents produce more behaviors that indicate cognitive processing problems for racially focused questions, which may be interpreted as demonstrating a “cultural” difference in the display of cognitive processing and interaction. Data are provided by the 2013–2014 Voices Heard Survey, a computer-assisted telephone survey designed to measure respondents’ perceptions of barriers and facilitators to participating in medical research.

As members of a university community that sponsors animal research, we developed a survey to improve our knowledge about factors underlying the perceived justifiability of animal research among faculty and undergraduate students. To accomplish this objective, we gathered quantitative data about their general views on animal use by humans, their specific views about the use of different species to address different categories of scientific questions, and their confidence in the translatability of animal research to humans. Students and faculty did not differ in their reported levels of concern for the human use of animals, but women reported significantly higher levels of concern than men. Among students, experience with animal research was positively correlated with less concern with animal use, and having practiced vegetarianism or veganism was associated with more concern. Gender, experience with animal research, and dietary preferences were similarly correlated with the extent of justifiability of animal use across all research purposes and species. Faculty responses resembled those for students, with the exception that justifiability varied significantly based on academic discipline: biological sciences faculty were least concerned about human use of animals and most supportive of animal research regardless of purpose or species. For both students and faculty, justifiability varied depending on research purpose or animal species. Research purposes, ranked in order of justifiability from high to low, was animal disease, human disease, basic research, human medicine, animal production, chemical testing, and cosmetics. Justifiability by purpose was slightly lower for students than for faculty. Species justifiability for students, from high to low, was small fish, rats or mice, pigs or sheep, monkeys, and dogs or cats. Faculty order was the same except that monkeys and dogs or cats were reversed in order. Finally, confidence in the translatability of animal research to our understanding of human biology and medicine was not different between students and faculty or between genders, but among faculty it was highest in biological sciences followed by physical sciences, social sciences, and then arts and humanities. Those with experience in animal research displayed the most confidence, and vegetarians/vegans displayed the least. These findings demonstrate that, although the range of views in any subcategory is large, views about animal research justifiability can vary significantly among respondent subpopulations in predictable ways. In particular, research purpose and choice of animal species are important variables for many people. This supports the claim that ensuring purpose and species are robustly integrated into research proposal reviews and approvals should be considered to be a best practice. We suggest that strengthening this integration beyond what is described in current regulations would better meet the justifiability criteria expressed by members of our campus community.

Self-rated health (SRH) is widely used to study health across a range of disciplines. However, relatively little research examines how features of its measurement in surveys influence respondents’ answers and the overall quality of the resulting measurement. Manipulations of response option order and scale orientation are particularly relevant to assess for SRH given the increasing prominence of web-based survey data collection and since these factors are often outside of the control of the researcher who is analyzing data collected by other investigators. We examine how the interplay of two features of SRH influence respondents’ answers in a 2-by-3 factorial experiment that varies (1) the order in which the response options are presented (“excellent” to “poor” or “poor” to “excellent”) and (2) the orientation of the response option scale (vertical, horizontal, or banked). The experiment was conducted online using workers from Amazon Mechanical Turk (N = 2945). We find no main effects of response scale orientation and no interaction between response option order and scale orientation. However, we find main effects of response option order: mean SRH and the proportion in “excellent” or “very good” health are higher (better) and the proportion in “fair” or “poor” health lower when the response options are ordered from “excellent” to “poor” compared to “poor” to “excellent.” We also see heterogeneous treatment effects of response option ordering across respondents’ characteristics associated with ability. Overall, the implications for the validity and cross-survey comparability of SRH are likely considerable for response option ordering and minimal for scale orientation.

Straightlining occurs when survey respondents give identical (or nearly identical) answers to items in a battery of questions using the same response scale, which may reduce data quality. Despite its potential importance, research examining straightlining does not use a standard measurement technique. Further, while mixed-mode studies are increasing in prevalence, few studies compare straightlining behavior in mail versus web surveys. Our article has the following goals: (1) describe and evaluate methods for detecting straightlining and (2) examine effects of education and mode of administration on straightlining in two mail/web mixed-mode surveys. Data for Study 1 are from a 2010 survey of alcohol beliefs and consumption in which 7,200 young adults were sampled from driver’s license records in Wisconsin and randomly assigned to mail–web (mail followed by web) or web–mail (web followed by mail) treatments. Data for Study 2 are from a 2013 survey about a public university and its affiliated health organizations that used an address-based sample and randomly assigned households to one of the three experimental groups: mail-only, web-only, and web–mail. We identify and examine five methods for measuring straightlining: simple nondifferentiation, mean root of pairs, maximum identical rating, standard deviation of battery, and scale point variation. The overall results replicate previously reported findings of a negative association between education and straightlining behaviors except for the standard deviation of battery measure in Study 1. Controlling for gender, race/ethnicity, and education, mode of administration was not significantly related to straightlining for any of the measures, suggesting straightlining behavior is stable across mail and web forms of self-administration.

“Rapport” has been used to refer to a range of positive psychological features of an interaction, including a situated sense of connection or affiliation between interactional partners, comfort, willingness to disclose or share sensitive information, motivation to please, and empathy. Rapport could potentially benefit survey participation and response quality by increasing respondents’ motivation to participate, disclose, or provide accurate information. Rapport could also harm data quality if motivation to ingratiate or affiliate causes respondents to suppress undesirable information. Some previous research suggests that motives elicited when rapport is high conflict with the goals of standardized interviewing. The authors examine rapport as an interactional phenomenon, attending to both the content and structure of talk. Using questions about end-of-life planning in the 2003–2005 wave of the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, the authors observe that rapport consists of behaviors that can be characterized as dimensions of responsiveness by interviewers and engagement by respondents. The authors identify and describe types of responsiveness and engagement in selected question-answer sequences and then devise a coding scheme to examine their analytic potential with respect to the criterion of future study participation. The analysis suggests that responsive and engaged behaviors vary with respect to the goals of standardization; some behaviors conflict with these goals, whereas others complement them.

Following calls for replication of research studies, this study documents the results of two studies that experimentally examine the impact of response option order on self-rated health (SRH). Two studies from an online panel survey examined how the order of response options (positive to negative versus negative to positive) influences the distribution of SRH answers. The results of both studies indicate that the distribution of SRH varies across the experimental treatments, and mean SRH is lower (worse) when the response options start with “poor” rather than “excellent.” In addition, there are differences across the two studies in the distribution of SRH and mean SRH when the response options begin with “excellent,” but not when the response options begin with “poor.” The similarities in the general findings across the two studies strengthen the claim that SRH will be lower (worse) when the response options are ordered beginning with “poor” rather than “excellent” in online self-administered questionnaires, with implications for the validity of SRH. The slight differences in the administration of the seemingly identical studies further strengthen the claim and also serve as a reminder of the inherent variability of a single permutation of any given study.

Background Self-rated health (SRH) is widely used to measure subjective health. Yet it is unclear what underlies health ratings, with implications for understanding the validity of SRH overall and across sociodemographic characteristics. We analyze participants’ explanations of how they formulated their SRH answer in addition to which health factors they considered and examine group differences in these processes. Methods Cognitive interviews were conducted with 64 participants in a convenience quota sample crossing dimensions of race/ethnicity (white, Latino, black, American Indian), gender, age, and education. Participants rated their health then described their thoughts when answering SRH. We coded participants’ answers in an inductive, iterative, and systematic process from interview transcripts, developing analytic categories (i.e., themes) and subdimensions within. We examined whether the presence of each dimension of an analytic category varied across sociodemographic groups. Results Our qualitative analysis led to the identification and classification of various subdimensions of the following analytic categories: types of health factors mentioned, valence of health factors, temporality of health factors, conditional health statements, and descriptions and definitions of health. We found differences across groups in some types of health factors mentioned—corresponding, conflicting, or novel with respect to prior research. Furthermore, we also documented various processes through which respondents integrate seemingly disparate health factors to formulate an answer through valence and conditional health statements. Finally, we found some evidence of sociodemographic group differences with respect to types of health factors mentioned, valence of health factors, and conditional health statements, highlighting avenues for future research. Conclusion This study provides a description of how participants rate their general health status and highlights potential differences in these processes across sociodemographic groups, helping to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how SRH functions as a measure of health.

Privacy and confidentiality are often of great concern to respondents answering sensitive questions posed by interviewers. Using the 1993–2010 General Social Survey, we examined trends in the provision of social security numbers (SSNs) and correlates of those responses. Results indicate that the rate of SSN provision has declined over the past three decades, that is, from about 60% in 1993–1994 to 20% after 2004. Although younger, unmarried, and less-educated respondents are more likely to provide SSNs, an indicator of trust toward others is not a significant predictor of SSN provision. Further, those who refuse to report their income and who receive an incentive are less likely to provide their SSN. Our findings have implications for studies involving sensitive questions as well as privacy and confidentiality issues.

As researchers increasingly use mail survey methods to collect health and other data, research focused on optimizing features of survey design and administration in cost-effective ways is needed. We conducted two studies to examine the effects of sequential prepaid incentives and envelope messaging on response rates, item nonresponse, and costs in two mail surveys using address-based samples. Sample members in study 1 were randomly assigned to groups that received a preincentive of $2 versus $5, a second incentive of $0 versus $2 (sent only to nonresponders), and an envelope bearing no message or a monetary-focused message. Results indicated that the $5 preincentive significantly increased response rates, but neither the second incentive nor the message had an effect. Informed by the results of study 1, study 2 delivered a $2 preincentive to all sample members, but increased the amount of the second incentive to $5. Study 2 also tested a health-focused envelope message. While envelope messaging again failed to motivate participation, the administration of a second incentive, valued at a larger amount than the preincentive, significantly increased response rates. With regard to their effects on item nonresponse, while none of the variables was associated with item-missing levels in study 2, a significant three-way interaction was found in study 1 such that missing data was higher in the presence of a monetary message when a $2 preincentive was paired with a $2 second incentive. Cost analyses indicated that while larger incentives increased response rates, they also increased costs

This study aims to assess the impact of response option order and question order on the distribution of responses to the self-rated health (SRH) question and the relationship between SRH and other health-related measures.In an online panel survey, we implement a 2-by-2 between-subjects factorial experiment, manipulating the following levels of each factor: (1) order of response options ("excellent" to "poor" versus "poor" to "excellent") and (2) order of SRH item (either preceding or following the administration of domain-specific health items). We use Chi-square difference tests, polychoric correlations, and differences in means and proportions to evaluate the effect of the experimental treatments on SRH responses and the relationship between SRH and other health measures.Mean SRH is higher (better health) and proportion in "fair" or "poor" health lower when response options are ordered from "excellent" to "poor" and SRH is presented first compared to other experimental treatments. Presenting SRH after domain-specific health items increases its correlation with these items, particularly when response options are ordered "excellent" to "poor." Among participants with the highest level of current health risks, SRH is worse when it is presented last versus first.While more research on the presentation of SRH is needed across a range of surveys, we suggest that ordering response options from "poor" to "excellent" might reduce positive clustering. Given the question order effects found here, we suggest presenting SRH before domain-specific health items in order to increase inter-survey comparability, as domain-specific health items will vary across surveys.

Although survey research has witnessed a surge in the use of self-administered web and mail surveys over the past decades, interviewer-administered surveys continue to be an important part of the data collection landscape, particularly when high response rates are critical, samples are complex, and measurement is demanding. Thus, there is continued need for research concerning the interviewer’s role in both measurement and recruitment. This special issue of Survey Practice features several articles that highlight some current issues and recent findings about interviewer-respondent interaction coding (often referred to as “behavior coding”) that have immediate and practical recommendations for writing and evaluating survey questions, training interviewers, and recruiting sample members.

Objective To report the current state of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) in veterinary surgical practice in 2010. Study Design Electronic questionnaire. Sample Population Diplomates and residents of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS). Methods A survey (38 questions for Diplomates, 23 questions for residents) was sent electronically to 1216 Diplomates and 300 residents. Questions were organized into 5 categories to investigate: (1) caseload and distribution of MIS cases; (2) MIS training; (3) MIS benefits, morbidity, limitations and motivating factors; (4) ACVS role; and (5) demographics of the study population. Results Eighty-six percent of small animal (SA) Diplomates, 99% of large animal (LA) Diplomates, and 98% of residents had performed MIS. Median LA caseload (30 cases/year; range, 1–600) was significantly higher than SA caseload (20 cases/year; range, 1–350). Descending order of case distribution was: arthroscopy > laparoscopy > endoscopic upper airway > thoracoscopy. Sixty percent of Diplomates and 98% of residents received MIS training during their residency. Residents' perspective of MIS training proficiency was positively correlated to caseload. Ninety-five percent of all respondents felt postoperative morbidity was less with MIS, and were motivated by patient benefits, maintaining a high standard of care, and personal interests. Fifty-eight percent of Diplomates and 89% of residents felt ACVS should be involved in developing MIS training. Conclusions MIS is widely used by ACVS Diplomates and residents in clinical practice; however, important differences exist between SA and LA surgeons and practice types. MIS training in partnership with the ACVS is needed for continued development in veterinary surgery.

While a large literature indicates that using a mixed-mode approach to notify or contact potential respondents can be effective in increasing response rates, surprisingly little research examines the impact the mode of invitation has on participation in a web survey. To assess the effects of invitation mode on response rates, costs, and demographic representativeness, university faculty members ( N = 280) were randomly assigned to experimental groups and sent a mailed invitation letter and a $2 cash incentive; a mailed invitation letter only; or an e-mailed invitation. Nonresponding faculty received up to two reminders to participate, by e-mail. Results indicated that the response rates were higher for the groups invited using a postal letter, but the inclusion of $2 did not significantly increase the response rates. Consistent with expectations, while costs were higher for the mailed invitation groups, the mailed invitations improved the demographic representativeness of the respondents, especially for the $2 incentive group. This study builds on a small body of literature that explicitly examines the mode of invitation on survey participation in web surveys and adds to previous findings by examining costs and effects on the demographic representativeness of the respondents.

Although previous research indicates that audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (ACASI) yields higher reports of threatening behaviors than interviewer-administered interviews, very few studies have examined the potential effect of the gender of the ACASI voice on survey reports. Because the voice in ACASI necessarily has a gender, it is important to understand whether using a voice that is perceived as male or female might further enhance the validity associated with ACASI. This study examines gender-of-voice effects for a set of questions about sensitive behaviors administered via ACASI to a sample of young adults at high risk for engaging in the behaviors. Results showed higher levels of engagement in the behaviors and more consistent reporting among males when responding to a female voice, indicating that males were potentially more accurate when reporting to the female voice. Reports by females were not influenced by the voice’s gender. Our analysis adds to research on gender-of-voice effects in surveys, with important findings on measuring sensitive behaviors among young adults.

The self-reported health question summarizes information about health status across several domains of health and is widely used to measure health because it predicts mortality well. We examine whether interactional behaviors produced by respondents and interviewers during the self-reported health question-answer sequence reflect complexities in the respondent’s health history. We observed more problematic interactional behaviors during question-answer sequences in which respondents reported worse health. Furthermore, these behaviors were more likely to occur when there were inconsistencies in the respondent’s health history, even after controlling for the respondent’s answer to the self-reported health question, cognitive ability, and sociodemographic characteristics. We also found that among respondents who reported “excellent” health, and to a lesser extent among those who reported their health was “very good,” problematic interactional behaviors were associated with health inconsistencies. Overall, we find evidence that the interactional behaviors exhibited during the question-answer sequence are associated with respondents’ health status.

Little is known about what strategies are cost-effective in increasing participation among physicians in surveys that are conducted exclusively via the web. To assess the effects of incentives and prenotification on response rates and costs, general internists ( N = 3,550) were randomly selected from the American Medical Association (AMA) Masterfile and assigned to experimental groups that varied in the amount of a promised incentive (none, entry into a $200 lottery, $50, or $100) and prenotification (none, prenotification letter only, or prenotification letter containing a $2 preincentive). Results indicated that the response rates were highest in the groups promised $100 and $50, respectively. While the postal prenotification letter increased response rates, the inclusion of a small token $2 preincentive had no effect on participation. Further, unlike mail surveys of physicians, the $2 preincentive was not cost-effective. Among physicians, larger promised incentives of $50 or $100 are more effective than a nominal preincentive in increasing participation in a web-only survey. Consistent with prior research, there was little evidence of nonresponse bias among the experimental groups.

Although researchers have used phone surveys for decades, the lack of an accurate picture of the call opening reduces our ability to train interviewers to succeed. Sample members decide about participation quickly. We predict participation using the earliest moments of the call; to do this, we analyze matched pairs of acceptances and declinations from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study using a case-control design and conditional logistic regression. We focus on components of the first speaking turns: acoustic-prosodic components and interviewer's actions. The sample member's "hello" is external to the causal processes within the call and may carry information about the propensity to respond. As predicted by Pillet-Shore (2012), we find that when the pitch span of the sample member's "hello" is greater the odds of participation are higher, but in contradiction to her prediction, the (less reliably measured) pitch pattern of the greeting does not predict participation. The structure of actions in the interviewer's first turn has a large impact. The large majority of calls in our analysis begin with either an "efficient" or "canonical" turn. In an efficient first turn, the interviewer delays identifying themselves (and thereby suggesting the purpose of the call) until they are sure they are speaking to the sample member, with the resulting efficiency that they introduce themselves only once. In a canonical turn, the interviewer introduces themselves and asks to speak to the sample member, but risks having to introduce themselves twice if the answerer is not the sample member. The odds of participation are substantially and significantly lower for an efficient turn compared to a canonical turn. It appears that how interviewers handle identification in their first turn has consequences for participation; an analysis of actions could facilitate experiments to design first interviewer turns for different target populations, study designs, and calling technologies.

A large literature provides the basis for recommendations about how to improve the reliability and validity of standardized measurement, whether in survey interviews or in other contexts. Building on an analysis of question characteristics and the decisions required when writing questions, this article summarizes implications of relevant research. We present illustrations of revisions that apply guidelines for improving question.

Biological measures are increasingly collected along with survey responses in household surveys. While the promise of collecting these measures is rich, there are many barriers to gathering data accurately and reliably, which may lead to a winnowing of the sample to a more select group. Research is needed to determine what factors are associated with respondents’ willingness to provide biological measures in a survey and what barriers impede successful collection. We examine factors associated with compliance to a request to provide a salivary DNA sample as part of a separate data collection effort for the highly successful Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. Over 50% of eligible respondents returned a self-administered saliva sample through the mail. Using survey responses from prior waves and paradata from the survey data collection process, we examine factors associated with returning the saliva sample including respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics, cognitive ability, health, religiosity, and prior participation in

The versatility, speed, and reduced costs with which web surveys can be conducted with clinicians are often offset by low response rates. Drawing on best practices and general recommendations in the literature, we provide an evidence-based overview of methods for conducting online surveys with providers. We highlight important advantages and disadvantages of conducting provider surveys online and include a review of differences in response rates between web and mail surveys of clinicians. When administered online, design-based features affect rates of survey participation and data quality. We examine features likely to have an impact including sample frames, incentives, contacts (type, timing, and content), mixed-mode approaches, and questionnaire length. We make several recommendations regarding optimal web-based designs, but more empirical research is needed, particularly with regard to identifying which combinations of incentive and contact approaches yield the highest response rates and are the most cost-effective.

Explanatory style is a cognitive personality variable with diverse correlates reflecting good versus bad adaptation. It is usually measured with the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ), but existing versions of this instrument can be difficult for research participants to complete without close supervision. We describe a new version of the ASQ and its use in a mail survey of 146 college students. Results support its efficiency, reliability, and validity. A satisfactory response rate of 70%o was attained. Very few items were omitted among the questionnaires returned (1.3%). Subscale reliabilities were satisfactory (alphas > .70), and the new ASQ correlated with reports of depressive symptoms ( rs > .28), suggesting its appropriateness for general use with adults, including survey research.

College students completed questionnaires measuring their explanatory style and health status. Four weeks later, they completed questionnaires measuring major life events, hassles, and health status. Contrary to the prediction of the reformulated helplessness model, the occurrence of bad life events did not interact with explanatory style to predispose poor health. However, the tendency to explain bad events with stable and global causes was related to reports of hassles. Reports of hassles were in turn related to poor health status. These results were obtained even when initial health status was held constant. Implications of these results were discussed, particularly with regard to the helplessness reformulation as a diathesis-stress model.