Improving Survey Response

Ineke Stoop, Social and Cultural Planning Office of the NetherlandsHead of the Department of Data Services and IT, Dr Stoop has worked in survey research and data quality for almost 30 years. She's a member of the advisory board for both Eurostat and the ISI. Her main research interest is nonresponse. Jaak Billiet, Centre for Sociological Research, K.U. Leuven, BelgiumProfessor Billiet is head of the Centre of Sociological Research and a member of the central co-ordination team of the European Social Survey. Achim Koch, Centre for Survey Research and Methodology, GermanySenior Researcher Achim Koch has been working in this area for 20 years. He was Director of the German General Social Survey between 1995 and 2004. Rory Fitzgerald, Centre for Comparative Social Surveys, City University, UKSenior Research Fellow Rory Fitzgerald has had many years experience working in surveying. Before moving to his current post he was Research Director at the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) for 5 years.All four authors have published numerous articles in this area.

• 1. Backgrounds of nonresponse 1.1. Introduction1.2. Declining response rates1.3. Total survey quality and nonresponse1.4. Optimising comparability2. Survey response in cross-national studies2.1. Introduction2.2. Harmonisation models2.3. Contactability2.4. Ability to cooperate2.5. Willingness to cooperate2.6. Nonresponse bias2.7. Ethics and humans3. The European Social Survey3.1. Introduction3.2. What is the European Social Survey?3.3. ESS design and methodology3.4. Nonresponse targets, strategies and documentation3.5. Conclusions4. Implementation of the European Social Survey4.1. Introduction4.2. Basic survey features4.3. Practical fieldwork issues4.4. Summary and conclusions5. Response and nonresponse rates in the European Social Survey5.1. Data and definitions5.2. Response and nonresponse rates in ESS 35.3. Response rate differences and fieldwork efforts6. Response enhancement through extended interviewer efforts6.1. Introduction6.2. Previous research on contactability6.3. Previous research on cooperation6.4. Sample type and recruitment mode in the European Social Survey6.5. Establishing contact in the European Social Survey6.6. Obtaining cooperation in the European Social Survey6.7. Effects of enhanced field efforts in the European Social Survey6.8. Conclusion7. Refusal conversion7.1. Introduction7.2. Previous research7.3. Refusal conversion in the ESS7.4. Refusal conversion and data quality7.5. Discussion and conclusions8. Designs for detecting nonresponse bias and adjustment8.1. What is nonresponse bias?8.2. Methods for assessing nonresponse bias8.4. Final conclusions9. Lessons learned9.1. Introduction9.2. Standardisation, tailoring and control9.3. Achieving high response rates9.4. Refusal conversion9.5. Nonresponse bias9.6. Contact forms and fieldwork monitoring9.7. Into the future