Special issue: Fieldwork Monitoring Strategies for Interviewer-Administered Surveys

Editors: Katharina Meitinger, Daniela Ackermann-Piek, Michael Blohm, Brad Edwards, Tobias Gummer & Henning Silber

To achieve high quality data, optimal fieldwork monitoring strategies are essential during the data collection of surveys. A large variety of performance indicators are available and there are many opportunities to intervene if any issues are detected during the data collection phase. This special issue spotlights the lessons learned when working with different fieldwork monitoring strategies in various settings. It provides a platform to share valuable best practice knowledge and provides insights on which fieldwork strategies and tools are employed in the field.

Fieldwork Monitoring Strategies for Interviewer-Administered Surveys Special issue

Katharina Meitinger, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Daniela Ackermann-Piek, GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Germany
Michael Blohm, GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Germany
Brad Edwards, Westat, United States
Tobias Gummer, GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Germany
Henning Silber, GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Germany

Fieldwork Monitoring in Practice: Insights from 17 Large-scale Social Science Surveys in Germany Special issue

Katharina Meitinger (a), Sven Stadtmüller (b), Henning Silber (b), Roman Auriga (c), Michael Bergmann (d), Michael Blohm (b), Manuela Blumenberg (b), Pablo Christmann (b), Barbara Felderer (b), Corinna Frodermann (f), Florian Griese (g), Tobias Gummer (b), Achim Koch (b), Anita Kottwitz (h), Kristina Krell (h), Ulrich Krieger (e), Elisabeth Liebau (g), Silke Martin (b), Andre Müller-Kuller (c), Beatrice Rammstedt (b), Ines Schaurer (b), Annette Scherpenzeel (d), Claudia Schmiedeberg (i), Tobias Schmidt (j), Christian Schnaudt (b), Sascha Verhoeven (b), Anouk Zabal (b)

(a) Utrecht University, (b) GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, (c) Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi), (d) MEA - Munich Center for the Economics of Aging, (e) University of Mannheim, (f) Institute for Employment Research (IAB), (g) German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), (h) Bielefeld University, (i) Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, (j) Deutsche Bundesbank

This study provides a synopsis of the current fieldwork monitoring practices of large-scale surveys in Germany. Based on the results of a standardized questionnaire, the study summarizes fieldwork monitoring indicators used and fieldwork measures carried out by 17 large-scale social sciences surveys in Germany. Our descriptive results reveal that a common set of fieldwork indicators [...]

fieldwork measures, fieldwork monitoring, key performance indicators,

Improving Central Monitoring of Fieldwork in Cross-national Surveys: The Case of the Fieldwork Management System in the European Social Survey Special issue

Roberto Briceno-Rosas, GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Mannheim, Germany
Sarah Butt, City, University of London, United Kingdom
Joost Kappelhof, SCP – The Netherlands Institute for Social Research, The Netherlands

Cross-national surveys face the particular challenge of trying to balance optimal survey quality within a country with comparability across countries in terms of data quality. Addressing this challenge during fieldwork requires effective management of fieldwork data, a task made more difficult by the inherent differences between countries. This article argues that changes to the comprehensiveness, [...]

central fieldwork monitoring, cross-national surveys, data management system, data quality, ESS, face-to-face, survey management,

The utility of auxiliary data for survey response modeling: Evidence from the German Internet Panel Special issue

Carina Cornesse, University of Mannheim and GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Germany

Auxiliary data are becoming more important as nonresponse rates increase and new fieldwork monitoring and respondent targeting strategies develop. In many cases, auxiliary data are collected or linked to the gross sample to predict survey response. If the auxiliary data have high predictive power, the response models can meaningfully inform survey operations as well as [...]

auxiliary data, INKAR data, interviewer observations, Microm data, Nonresponse, online panel recruitment, response propensity,

Converting Nonrespondents in PIAAC Germany 2012 Using Responsive Measures Special issue

Silke Martin, GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Mannheim, Germany
Anouk Zabal, GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Mannheim, Germany

Using paradata to modify design features during fieldwork is the earmark of responsive designs (Groves & Heeringa, 2006). One objective of responsive approaches is to improve the composition of the final sample by gaining the participation of nonrespondents. A simple but innovative attempt at realizing such a response intervention was undertaken during the fieldwork of [...]

auxiliary data, classification tree analysis, Nonresponse, paradata, PIAAC, refusal conversion, responsive measures, tailored letters,

Using field monitoring strategies to improve panel sample representativeness: Application during data collection in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE)Special issue

Michael Bergmann & Annette Scherpenzeel, Technical University of Munich (Chair for the Economics of Aging), Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA), Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy, Munich, Germany

The Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) is a multidisciplinary and cross-national face-to-face panel study of the process of population ageing. For the sixth wave of data collection, we applied an adaptive/responsive fieldwork design in the German sub-study of SHARE to test actual possibilities and effects of implementing targeted monitoring strategies during [...]

adaptive and responsive survey design, panel sample representativeness, response probability,

Developments in fieldwork procedures and monitoring in longitudinal surveys: case prioritisation and electronic contact sheets on the UK Millennium Cohort Study Special issue

Lisa Calderwood (1), Lucy Haselden (1), Vilma Agalioti-Sgompou (1), Andrew Cleary (2), Nickie Rose (2), Claire Bhaumik (2) and James Thom (2)
(1) Centre for Longitudinal Studies, UCL Institute of Education.
(2) Ipsos MORI Social Research Institute

Maximising response is important in any survey and especially so in a longitudinal survey where non-response at a particular wave contributes to attrition. A key element of response maximisation in face-to-face surveys is the adoption and implementation of thorough fieldwork procedures. The introduction of electronic sample management systems has provided more timely and accurate para-data [...]

call protocols, case prioritisation, fieldwork procedures, response propensity model, sample management,

Using Geospatial Data to Monitor and Optimize Face-to-Face Fieldwork Special issue

Ina Bieber, Johannes N. Blumenberg, Manuela S. Blumenberg & Michael Blohm, GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Mannheim, Germany

Interviewers occupy a key position in face-to-face interviews. Their behavior decisively contributes to the quality of surveys. However, monitoring interviewers in face-to-face surveys is much more challenging than in telephone surveys. It is often up to the interviewer when they conduct the interviews and which addresses they work on first. Nevertheless, homogeneous fieldwork, i.e. that [...]

face-to-face, fieldwork monitoring, geographical visualization, interviewer observation, survey management,