Maintaining high response rates - is it worth the effort?

RSS Meeting

Random probability surveys face two key threats to their long-term viability: high and increasing costs, and low and declining response rates. These twin pressures have been felt all the more acutely in recent years with the rapid and pervasive emergence of opt-in internet panels that are substantially quicker, more flexible, and most importantly, cheaper to administer. At the same time, scholars and funders are questioning the relevance of traditional survey methods in the age of linked administrative, transactional, and other forms of ‘big data’.

As maintaining response rates becomes ever more challenging, data collection agencies are allocating larger shares of available resources to repeated callback attempts at addresses until contact is made, and engaging in refusal conversion strategies to persuade initially uncooperative households to undertake an interview. In this evening event we explore whether this focus on maintaining high response rates is worth the effort, or whether we might tolerate lower response rates.

Attendance is free but please register at events@rss.org.uk

5.00pm–6:30pm: Tea and Coffee from 4.30pm