National minorities and their representation in social surveys: which practices make a difference?

Abstract

This paper presents a systematic study of survey mechanisms that produce or reduce minority bias in social surveys. It extends the work of who have demonstrated that, in the Swiss context, the more an ethno-national minority community differs, socio-culturally and socio-economically, from the national majority, the less it is likely to be represented in its proper proportion in the major national surveys. Minority bias furthermore has a vertical dimension: socio-economic bias against individuals from the most deprived backgrounds becomes extreme within ethno-national minority communities. Using data from the Swiss Labour Force Survey, the Swiss Household Panel, and the Swiss sample of the European Social Survey, in the present work we empirically assess the impact of three types of survey practices on minority bias: (1) strategies to increase overall response rates of the whole population indiscriminately from its minority status, (2) the use of preand post-stratification measures that take into account the overall share of foreigners in the national population, and (3) the conduct of interviews in a wider range of languages, in order to facilitate survey response among certain (linguistic) minorities. Our findings show that efforts to increase overall response rates can, paradoxically, create even more minority bias. On the other hand, they suggest that a combination of stratified sampling and a wider range of survey languages can have a positive effect in reducing survey bias, both between and within national categories. We conclude that measures that take into account and adapt to the social and cultural heterogeneity of surveyed populations do make a difference, whereas additional efforts that only replicate existing routine practices can be counter-productive.

Career Pathways and Professional Transitions: Preliminary Results from the First Wave of a 7-Year Longitudinal Study

“…However, the implemented procedure is not without some limitations. For example, in such studies some less well-integrated subgroups (such as individuals with poorer health or low language skills) could be more difficult to contact and convince to participate (Laganà et al 2011). Consistent with previous studies (e.g., Aluja et al 2007;Riva et al 2003), the first analyses indicated no differences in the evaluation of psychological processes related to survey format.…”

“…This limitation -which is not uniquely related to the mixed-mode method -is probably more important among non-Swiss individuals and subgroups with higher levels of low skilled people (such as unemployed individuals). Nevertheless, as indicated by Laganà et al (2011), reaching more marginal groups -for example due to language limitations -is a recurrent problem in this kind of survey. Finally, online surveys, similar to surveys based on phone interviews, are affected by coverage bias (or error) (i.e., not all the household are equipped with Internet or phone connections, and coverage could differ within groups, e.g., lower-income vs. higher-income) (de Leeuw 2005).…”

Adapting Quantitative Survey Procedures: The Price for Assessing Vulnerability? Lessons from a Large-Scale Survey on Aging and Migration in Switzerland

“…As for the total resident population 65 and over, there was an increase of 21 % from 1995 to 2010, while the foreign population increased 55 % in the same period of time (Swiss Federal Statistical Office 2012). rate and ethno-social affiliations Elcheroth et al 2011;Laganà et al 2013). These studies conclude that the underrepresentation of national minorities results in bias even after controlling for socioeconomic status.…”

“…Not speaking the survey language is one factor. But having living conditions that make someone uneasily reachable by standard procedures or having a system of beliefs and values that make the questions not understandable constitute major difficulties as well (Feskens et al 2006;Lipps et al 2011;Elcheroth et al 2011;Laganà et al 2011). Moreover, analysis of reasons for inclusion and exclusion of national minority groups from Swiss large-scale surveys confirms the relation between nonresponse population" submitted twice to the vote of the Swiss population in the 1970s.…”

A Tailor-Made Plant Closure Survey

“…or to have lower literacy in the language of the questionnaire (Groves and Couper 1998;Stoop 2005). For Switzerland, earlier findings show that immigrant groups from non-EU countries are usually underrepresented in surveys (Laganà et al 2011;Lipps et al 2013). It is thus important to understand the mechanism behind nonresponse and, if possible, to correct for it.…”