Response Rates in the European Social Survey: Increasing, Decreasing, or a Matter of Fieldwork Efforts?

Beullens, Koen; Loosveldt, Geert; Vandenplas, Caroline; Stoop, Ineke

doi:10.13094/smif-2018-00003

Cited by 37 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Both relationships were relatively consistent over time, with minor fluctuations. The declining response rate trend that we found in the repeated cross-sectional IAB Establishment Panel surveys is consistent with trends observed in household surveys, which generally showed declining response rates in recent years (e.g., Luiten et al 2020;Beullens et al 2018;Brick and Williams 2013). This is remarkable given that the survey participation decision among establishments is unique to the decision-making process among households.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Trends in Establishment Survey Nonresponse Rates and Nonresponse Bias: Evidence from the 2001-2017 IAB Establishment Panel

König

Sakshaug

Stegmaier

et al. 2021

Journal of Official Statistics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Evidence from the household survey literature shows a declining response rate trend in recent decades, but whether a similar trend exists for voluntary establishment surveys is an understudied issue. This article examines trends in nonresponse rates and nonresponse bias over a period of 17 years in the annual cross-sectional refreshment samples of the IAB Establishment Panel in Germany. In addition, rich administrative data about the establishment and employee composition are used to examine changes in nonresponse bias and its two main components, refusal and noncontact, over time. Our findings show that response rates dropped by nearly a third: from 50.2% in 2001 to 34.5% in 2017. Simultaneously, nonresponse bias increased over this period, which was mainly driven by increasing refusal bias whereas noncontact bias fluctuated relatively evenly over the same period. Nonresponse biases for individual establishment and employee characteristics did not show a distinct pattern over time with few exceptions. Notably, larger establishments participated less frequently than smaller establishments over the entire period. This implies that survey organizations may need to put more effort into recruiting larger establishments to counteract nonresponse bias.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Trends in Establishment Survey Nonresponse Rates and Nonresponse Bias: Evidence from the 2001-2017 IAB Establishment Panel

König

Sakshaug

Stegmaier

et al. 2021

Journal of Official Statistics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although we considered separate analyses for males and females, the number of infections was too low (N=404) and stratification would result in insufficient statistical power. A last point is that NAKO baseline response was quite low (18%), which is most likely due to the comprehensive baseline examination and the general trend of declining survey response in developed countries (34). Although unit nonresponse can affect estimation of incidences, it has less impact on the association between occupation and infection, which was the main interest of this study (35,36).…”

Section: Limitations and Strengthsmentioning

confidence: 92%

Occupation and SARS-CoV-2 infection risk among 108 960 workers during the first pandemic wave in Germany

Reuter¹,

Rigó²,

Formazin³

et al. 2022

Scand J Work Environ Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study provides first evidence for occupational differences in the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection for Germany during the beginning of the pandemic. Findings confirm previous studies from Norway and the UK, reporting high infection rates in essential occupations and in personal services. In addition, we also test for vertical differences and find that infections were more common in higher occupational status positions.

show abstract

“…However, a response rate of 30% is common in online surveys 44 and in line with an international trend of declining survey response rates. 45 Future surveys need to be part of government monitoring systems to ensure a high response rate. 12 Additionally, as schools were asked to provide identifiable details (school name and email address) to receive an individualised report card of the results, there might be an element of social desirability bias in the results.…”

Section: Strengths and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The healthiness of New Zealand school food environments: a national survey

D’Souza

Vandevijvere

Swinburn

2022

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective: To evaluate the healthiness of New Zealand school food environments. Methods:In 2016, primary and secondary schools were invited to complete a cross-sectional questionnaire. School nutrition policies were analysed using an adapted Wellness School Assessment Tool. Canteen menus were analysed using the National Food and Beverage Classification System, and a sample of menus (n=54) were validated using fieldworker observations. Results:In total, 819 schools (response rate 33%) participated. Forty per cent had a nutrition policy, and those analysed (n=145) lacked comprehensiveness and contained weak statements. Seventy-one per cent sold food and beverages during the school day. The school food service offered mainly unhealthy items. Many schools (81%) used food and beverages for fundraising with 90% of them using 'less healthy' items. Most had vegetable gardens (80%), included nutrition education in the curriculum (90%), were not sponsored by food and beverage companies (94%) and did not have commercial advertising on school grounds (97%). Conclusion:New Zealand school nutrition policies are weak, and canteen and fundraising items are largely unhealthy, which undermine other positive efforts. Implications for public health:This study provides evidence of unhealthy school food environments and supports the need for stronger national-level policy.

show abstract

Response Rates in the European Social Survey: Increasing, Decreasing, or a Matter of Fieldwork Efforts?

Cited by 37 publications

References 13 publications

Trends in Establishment Survey Nonresponse Rates and Nonresponse Bias: Evidence from the 2001-2017 IAB Establishment Panel

Trends in Establishment Survey Nonresponse Rates and Nonresponse Bias: Evidence from the 2001-2017 IAB Establishment Panel

Occupation and SARS-CoV-2 infection risk among 108 960 workers during the first pandemic wave in Germany

The healthiness of New Zealand school food environments: a national survey

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About