Key Informant Versus Self-Report Estimates of Health-Risk Behavior

Abstract

qt t is unfortunate that in social survey work terms such as 1 reliability and validity, which are dichotomous in their classical origins (i.e., something is or is not reliable; something is or is not valid), take on variable meanings. And it is the variable meaning that is intended through our use of the terms when applied to the results of our comparison between two survey methodologies. We contend, based on the data reported in the article, that the key informant estimates of certain health-risk behavioral factors were &dquo;more valid&dquo; than estimates provided by the telephone survey technique, and that contention is stated with a number of caveats (e.g., given the population and the distribution of that population in New Mexico, etc.). There are, of course, other social survey methods that produce different estimates, and those can be used for comparison purposes (notes 4 and 6 made reference to such comparisons). Regarding seat belt use, mentioned in the preceding comments, an observational study conducted by the New Mexico Department of Transportation during the same period of time that the two surveys presented in our article were conducted resulted in the conclusion that only 11% of New Mexico's residents wear a seat belt. That obviously represents only a fraction of the estimates made by either the telephone or the key informant surveys. Because wearing a seat belt is not a statutory requirement in New Mexico, the &dquo;number of charges laid for not wearing seat belts&dquo; is not available, but records are kept by the State Police in all cases of

Measuring violence against women amidst war and displacement in northern Uganda using the "neighbourhood method"

“…The literature suggests that if any consistent bias exists in self-reported incidence figures, an overrepresentation of “good” behaviour would be anticipated. In this context, such a bias would make it less likely that households report that they are personally experiencing problems that they believe others will perceive as having some negative connotation 26. Additionally, it is plausible that key informants may overestimate the health-risk behaviour of others 28.…”

“…The development of the method was based on the premise that key informants have been shown, in certain studies of sensitive public health behaviours, to provide equally and—in some instances—more valid and reliable information than is obtained through self-report 26. Sisters were chosen based on the fact that this population has been shown to be reliable informants on topics such as maternal mortality 27.…”

Student‐recruited samples in organizational research: A review, analysis, and guidelines for future research

“…Snowball sampling entails researchers identifying a single person or group of participants within a targeted population who are then used to recruit additional potential study participants. Typically, the recruiter also participates in the study, although other permutations of snowball sampling preclude the recruiter from participating (Deaux & Callaghan, ; Watters & Biernacki, ).…”

“…Snowball sampling entails researchers identifying a single person or group of participants within a targeted population who are then used to recruit additional potential study participants. Typically, the recruiter also participates in the study, although other permutations of snowball sampling preclude the recruiter from participating (Deaux & Callaghan, 1985;Watters & Biernacki, 1989 In this study, we are particularly interested in what we call 'student-recruited sampling', or the use of non-researcher students to recruit participants into a study. Student-recruited sampling has numerous benefits: The samples can be relatively easy to obtain, quickly surveyed, and relatively inexpensively obtained compared with probabilistic methods (Semaan, Lauby, & Liebman, 2002).…”

Respondent-Driven Sampling: un nuevo método de muestreo para el estudio de poblaciones visibles y ocultas

“…El propósito de este método es mejorar las carencias metodológicas de tipos de muestreo ya conocidos como la bola de nieve (snowball sampling) (Goodman, 1961), el muestreo a través de informantes clave (key informant sampling) (Deaux y Callaghan, 1985), o a partir de la utilización de mapas etnográficos (targeted sampling) (Watters y Biernacki, 1989). El RDS recoge elementos de la teoría de redes y de los procesos de Markov para la elaboración de un procedimiento matemático que intenta paliar los problemas derivados de la falta de representatividad que limitan la validez de los resultados obtenidos por medio de los muestreos no probabilísticos o intencionales (Abdul-Quader, Heckathorn, Sabin y Saidel, 2006).…”