J. R. Statist. Soc. A (1999) 162, Part 3, pp. 437-446
A multilevel exploration of the role of interviewers in survey non-response Colm O'Muircheartaigh University of Chicago, USA
and Pamela Campanelli London, UK [Received November 1998. Revised April 19991
Summary. This paper illustrates the use of multilevel statistical modelling of cross-classified data to explore interviewers' influence on survey non-response. The results suggest that the variability in whole household refusal and non-contact rates is due more to the influence of interviewers than to the influence of areas. The results from separate logistic regression models are compared with the results from multinomial models using a polytomous dependent variable (refusals, non-contacts and responses). Using the cross-classified multilevel approach allows us to estimate correlations between refusals and non-contacts, suggesting that interviewers who are good at reducing whole household refusals are also good at reducing whole household non-contacts. Keywords: lnterviewer effects; lnterviewer variance; Multilevel models; Multinomial regression; Survey non-response
1.
Introduction
Interviewer-based data collectioll is the norm for social and market research surveys in the UK and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. But what effect do illterviewers have on survey results? On the one hand, illterviewers are often seen as valuable allies in the data collection process for their role in inillimizillg many potential sources of survey error (e.g. through motivating the respolldellt and controllillg the response process). Yet, at the same time, the interviewer call be one of the principal causes of non-response and response variance in quantitative surveys. Drawing on data from an interpenetrated sample experiinellt designed by the authors for use in wave 2 of the British Household Panel Study (BHPS), this paper focuses on separating the variability in response rates due to interviewers from that due to areas. The particular focus is on the two main components of non-response, refusals and non-contacts, and the extent to which these are related within interviewers and within areas. These substantive analyses illustrate the use of multilevel analysis for cross-classified data using the software MLwiN (Goldstein et al., 1998). More specifically, this paper focuses on a comparison of cross-classified multilevel logistic regression models with cross-classified multilevel inultinomial regression models.
Addrerr for coriespor7derice: Colm O'Muircheartaigh. Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago. 1155 East 60th Street. Chicago, IL 60637. USA. E-mail: colm@uchicago.edu 0 1999 Royal Statistical Society
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