Improving Survey Response: Lessons Learned from the European Social Survey

1.1. Introduction

1.2. Declining response rates

1.3. Total survey quality and nonresponse

1.4. Optimising comparability

2. Survey response in cross-national studies

2.1. Introduction

2.2. Harmonisation models

2.3. Contactability

2.4. Ability to cooperate

2.5. Willingness to cooperate

2.6. Nonresponse bias

2.7. Ethics and humans

3. The European Social Survey

3.1. Introduction

3.2. What is the European Social Survey?

3.3. ESS design and methodology

3.4. Nonresponse targets, strategies and documentation

3.5. Conclusions

4. Implementation of the European Social Survey

4.1. Introduction

4.2. Basic survey features

4.3. Practical fieldwork issues

4.4. Summary and conclusions

5. Response and nonresponse rates in the European Social Survey

5.1. Data and definitions

5.2. Response and nonresponse rates in ESS 3

5.3. Response rate differences and fieldwork efforts

6. Response enhancement through extended interviewer efforts

6.1. Introduction

6.2. Previous research on contactability

6.3. Previous research on cooperation

6.4. Sample type and recruitment mode in the European Social Survey

6.5. Establishing contact in the European Social Survey

6.6. Obtaining cooperation in the European Social Survey

6.7. Effects of enhanced field efforts in the European Social Survey

6.8. Conclusion

7. Refusal conversion

7.1. Introduction

7.2. Previous research

7.3. Refusal conversion in the ESS

7.4. Refusal conversion and data quality

7.5. Discussion and conclusions

8. Designs for detecting nonresponse bias and adjustment

8.1. What is nonresponse bias?

8.2. Methods for assessing nonresponse bias

8.4. Final conclusions

9. Lessons learned

9.1. Introduction

9.2. Standardisation, tailoring and control

9.3. Achieving high response rates

9.4. Refusal conversion

9.5. Nonresponse bias

9.6. Contact forms and fieldwork monitoring

9.7. Into the future