THE EFFECTS OF A TARGETED "EARLY BIRD" INCENTIVE STRATEGY ON RESPONSE RATES, FIELDWORK EFFORT, AND COSTS IN A NATIONAL PANEL STUDY.

Adaptive survey designs are increasingly used by survey practitioners to counteract ongoing declines in household survey response rates and manage rising fieldwork costs. This paper reports findings from an evaluation of an early-bird incentive (EBI) experiment targeting high-effort respondents who participate in the 2019 wave of the US Panel Study of Income Dynamics. We identified a subgroup of high-effort respondents at risk of nonresponse based on their prior wave fieldwork effort and randomized them to a treatment offering an extra time-delimited monetary incentive for completing their interview within the first month of data collection (treatment group; N = 800) or the standard study incentive (control group; N = 400). In recent waves, we have found that the costs of the protracted fieldwork needed to complete interviews with high-effort cases in the form of interviewer contact attempts plus an increased incentive near the close of data collection are extremely high. By incentivizing early participation and reducing the number of interviewer contact attempts and fieldwork days to complete the interview, our goal was to manage both nonresponse and survey costs. We found that the EBI treatment increased response rates and reduced fieldwork effort and costs compared to a control group. We review several key findings and limitations, discuss their implications, and identify the next steps for future research.

Transitioning to a Mixed-Mode Study Design in a National Household Panel Study: Effects on Fieldwork Outcomes, Sample Composition and Costs.

The U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) made a planned transition to a web-first mixed-mode data collection design in 2021 (web and computer-assisted telephone interviewing [CATI]), following nearly five decades of collecting data primarily using CATI with professional interviewers. To evaluate potential effects of mode on fieldwork outcomes, two sequential mixed-mode protocols were introduced using an experimental design. One protocol randomized sample families to a "web-first" treatment, which encouraged response through an online interview, followed by an offer of telephone to complete the interview; a second protocol randomized sample families to a "CATI-first" treatment until the last phase of fieldwork when the option to complete a web interview was offered. This paper examines the comparative effects of the two protocols on fieldwork outcomes, including response rates, interviewer contact attempts, fieldwork duration, and cost. Comparisons are also made with fieldwork outcomes and characteristics of non-responding sample members from the prior-wave when a traditional telephone design was used. We found that the web-first design compared to the CATI-first design led to comparably high response rates, and faster interview completion with lower effort and cost. With some notable exceptions, compared to the prior wave, the mixed-mode design reduced effort and had generally similar patterns of non-response among key respondent subgroups. The results provide new empirical evidence on the effects of mixing modes on fieldwork outcomes and costs and contribute to the small body of experimental evidence on the use of mixed-mode designs in household panel studies.

Switching from Telephone to Web-First Mixed-Mode Data Collection: Results from the Transition into Adulthood Supplement to the US Panel Study of Income Dynamics†.

We conducted an experiment to evaluate the effects on fieldwork outcomes and interview mode of switching to a web-first mixed-mode data collection design (self-administered web interview and interviewer-administered telephone interview) from a telephone-only design. We examine whether the mixed-mode option leads to better survey outcomes, based on response rates, fieldwork outcomes, interview quality, and costs. We also examine respondent characteristics associated with completing a web interview rather than a telephone interview. Our mode experiment study was conducted in the 2019 wave of the Transition into Adulthood Supplement (TAS) to the US Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). TAS collects information biennially from approximately 3,000 young adults in PSID families. The shift to a mixed-mode design for TAS was aimed at reducing costs and increasing respondent cooperation. We found that for mixed-mode cases compared to telephone only cases, response rates were higher, interviews were completed faster and with lower effort, the quality of the interview data appeared better, and fieldwork costs were lower. A clear set of respondent characteristics reflecting demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, technology availability and use, time use, and psychological health were associated with completing a web interview rather than a telephone interview.

The Effects of an Incentive Boost on Response Rates, Fieldwork Effort, and Costs across Two Waves of a Panel Study.

This paper describes the association between an incentive boost and data collection outcomes across two waves of a long-running panel study. In a recent wave, with the aim of achieving response rate goals, all remaining sample members were offered a substantial incentive increase in the final weeks of data collection, despite uncertainty about potential effects on fieldwork outcomes in the following wave. The analyses examine response rates and the average number of interviewer attempts to complete the interview in the waves during and after the incentive boost, and provide an estimate of the cost of the incentives and fieldwork in the waves during and following the boost. The findings provide suggestive evidence that the use of variable incentive strategies from one wave to the next in the context of an ongoing panel study may be an effective strategy to reduce nonresponse and may yield enduring positive effects on subsequent data collection outcomes.

Use of a Targeted Sequential Mixed Mode Protocol in a Nationally Representative Panel Study.

Relatively low response rates in mixed mode studies remain a concern. Whether targeting protocols to match respondents' likely mode is an effective strategy remains unclear. For those without a clear likely mode, how the details about sequencing influence response rates, mode, field work effort, and potential response bias remain important questions. This article describes a targeted sequential design implemented in a 2016 mixed mode supplement with individuals ages 30 and older in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, the longest running national panel study in the US (N=10,784). Respondents predicted to be likely to respond by web were invited to a web study and sent a paper copy after 6 weeks (web-first); those likely to respond by paper were also invited to participate by web but told that a paper copy would be sent shortly (signal-and-send). An embedded experiment measured the impact of the two protocols among a group of respondents with no clear likely mode (N=889). Over 40% of individuals with no likely mode are under the age of 40, and the group falls between the likely web and paper groups in terms of education and internet use and includes more women and single respondents. Compared to the likely web and paper groups, those with no likely mode had lower response rates and required more fieldwork effort. Among those randomly assigned, the signal-and-send protocol increased response over the web-first protocol from weeks 4 through 7. By week 16, both protocols yielded similar response rates (AAPOR 1 RR=71% vs. 68%, p=0.49), field effort (7.9 vs. 8.4 mean weeks, p=0.251), and distributions of respondent characteristics. Among those responding, cases randomized to web-first were more likely than those randomized to signal-and-send to respond by web (62.7% vs. 42.4% p<.001). We discuss implications for targeted protocols in mixed mode panel surveys.

Effectiveness of a Time-Limited Incentive on Participation by Hard-to-Reach Respondents in a Panel Study.

We describe an experiment to provide a time-limited incentive among a random sample of 594 hard-to-reach respondents, 200 of whom were offered the incentive to complete all survey components of a study during a three-week winter holiday period. Sample members were primary caregivers of children included in the 2014 Child Development Supplement to the U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics. The incentive provided $50 to caregivers who completed a 75-minute telephone interview and whose eligible children each completed a 30-minute interview. Results indicate that the incentive was an effective and cost-efficient strategy to increase short-term response rates with hard-to-reach respondents with no negative impact on final response rates.

The Effects of a Delayed Incentive on Response Rates, Response Mode, Data Quality, and Sample Bias in a Nationally Representative Mixed Mode Study.

This article describes the results of an experiment designed to examine the impact of the use and amount of delayed unconditional incentives in a mixed mode (push to web) supplement on response rates, response mode, data quality, and sample bias. The supplement was administered to individuals who participate in the U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics, the longest running national household panel in the world. After 10 weeks of data collection, individuals who had not yet completed the interview were sent a final survey request and randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions: no incentive, US$5, and US$10. The impact of the incentives on response rates and mode, effects on data quality, and sample bias are described. The implications for the use of incentives in mixed mode surveys and directions for future research are discussed.

The Effects of Respondents' Consent to be Recorded on Interview Length and Data Quality in a National Panel Study.

Recording interviews is a key feature of quality control protocols for most survey organizations. We examine the effects on interview length and data quality of a new protocol adopted by a national panel study. The protocol recorded a randomly chosen one-third of all interviews digitally, although all respondents were asked for permission to record their interview, and interviewers were blind to whether or not interviews were recorded. We find that the recording software slowed the interview slightly. Interviewer knowledge that the interview may be recorded improved data quality, but this knowledge also increased the length of the interview. Interviewers with higher education and performance ratings were less reactive to the new recording protocol. Survey managers may face a trade-off between higher data quality and longer interviews when determining recording protocols.

Cohort Profile: The Panel Study of Income Dynamics' Child Development Supplement and Transition into Adulthood Study.

The Child Development Supplement (CDS) was started in 1997 to collect information on children and caregivers in families in the USA that participated in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), an ongoing national longitudinal household survey that began in 1968. CDS was launched with the goal of creating a comprehensive, nationally representative, prospective database of young children and their families for studying the dynamic process of children's health and development. The same children and their caregivers were interviewed in up to three waves approximately every 5 years (1997, 2002-03, and 2007-08), with a child-based response rate of 90% in the most recent wave. Upon reaching age 18 years and finishing or leaving high school, the children in the CDS cohort shifted to a six-wave follow-up study launched in 2005 called the PSID Transition into Adulthood (TA) study. The TA data have been collected biennially through 2013, with a final wave planned for 2015. Once these young adults form their own economically independent households, they join the PSID. The main categories of data emphasize the major developmental tasks of childhood and young adulthood, including influences on successful development in the domains of family, schools and neighbourhoods. The majority of data and documentation are freely and publicly available through the PSID Online Data Center.

Survey Breakoffs in a Computer-Assisted Telephone Interview.

Nearly 23% of all telephone interviews in the most recently completed wave of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics break off at least once, requiring multiple sessions to complete the interview. Given this high rate, a study was undertaken to better understand the causes and consequences of temporary breakoffs in a computer-assisted telephone interview setting. The majority of studies examining breakoffs have been conducted in the context of self-administered web surveys. The present study uses new paradata collected on telephone interview breakoffs to describe their prevalence, associated field effort, the instrument sections and questions on which they occur, their source - whether respondent-initiated, interviewer-initiated, or related to telephone problems - and associations with respondent and interviewer characteristics. The results provide information about the survey response process and suggest a set of recommendations for instrument design and interviewer training, as well as additional paradata that should be collected to provide more insight into the breakoff phenomenon.

The Effects of a Between-Wave Incentive Experiment on Contact Update and Production Outcomes in a Panel Study.

Since 1969, families participating in the U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) have been sent a mailing asking them to update or verify their contact information in order to keep track of their whereabouts between waves. Having updated contact information prior to data collection is associated with fewer call attempts, less tracking, and lower attrition. Based on these advantages, two experiments were designed to increase response rates to the between-wave contact mailing. The first experiment implemented a new protocol that increased the overall response rate by 7 - 10 percentage points compared to the protocol in place for decades on the PSID. This article provides results from the second experiment which examines the basic utility of the between-wave mailing, investigates how incentives affect article cooperation to the update request and field effort, and attempts to identify an optimal incentive amount. Recommendations for the use of contact update strategies in panel studies are made.

The Panel Study of Income Dynamics: Overview, Recent Innovations, and Potential for Life Course Research.

Spanning over four decades, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) is the world's longest running household panel survey. The resulting data archive presents research opportunities for breakthroughs in understanding the connections between economic status, health and well-being across generations and over the life course. The long panel, genealogical design, and broad content of the data represent a unique opportunity for a multi-perspective study of life course evolution and change within families over multiple generations. Based on relational data structures and advanced web-based archiving and delivery tools, the PSID has a publicly available web-based facility for users worldwide to create customized data extracts and codebooks based on nearly 70,000 variables from over 70,000 individuals over 44 years. This paper provides an overview of the PSID and its supplemental studies, the Disability and Use of Time Supplement, the Child Development Supplement, and the Transition into Adulthood study, and describes features and recent enhancements that have increased the potential of the archive for studying life course development.

Examining the association between childhood asthma and parent and grandparent asthma status: implications for practice.

Examination of intergenerational asthma beyond maternal asthma has been limited. The association between childhood asthma and intergenerational asthma status among a national cohort of children was examined. The genealogical sample (2552 children) participating in the Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics was studied. Multivariate regression was used to determine intergenerational asthma. Children with a parent with asthma were almost twice as likely (odds ratio [OR] = 1.96) to have asthma compared with those without a parent with asthma. Children with a parent and grandparent with asthma were more than 4 times more likely to have asthma compared with those without a parent and grandparent with asthma (OR = 4.27). Children with a grandparent with asthma were more likely to have asthma (OR = 1.52). A family history of asthma was a significant predictor of physician diagnosed asthma in children regardless of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Findings support the collection of family history, including grandparent asthma status.