What role does integration play in reducing disparities in the labour market between ethnic minority and white majority populations? We shed light on this question by comparing the socio-economic positions of ethnic minorities in co- and inter-ethnic partnerships. We implement propensity score...

Using data from Understanding Society, and robust estimation methods we find that Pakistani and Bangladeshi groups have the highest poverty entry rates (23-26%), followed by Indian, black Caribbean and black African groups (9-11%) and the white majority (6%). Indians and Pakistani's have the...

This paper examines the role of interviewers' experience, attitudes, personality traits and inter-personal skills in determining survey co-operation. We take the perspective that these characteristics influence interviewers' behaviour and hence influence the doorstep interaction between...

It is common practice to adapt the format of a question to the mode of data collection. Multi-coded questions in self-completion and face-to-face modes tend to be transformed for telephone into a series of 'yes/no' questions. Questions with response scales are often branched in telephone...

We examine the effects on survey estimates of extended interviewer efforts to gain survey response, including refusal conversion attempts and attempts to make contact with hard-to-contact sample members. Specifically, we update and extend the research of Lynn & Clarke (2002). We estimate bias...

Household income is difficult to measure, since it requires collecting information about all potential income sources for each member of a household. We assess the effects of two types of edit check questions on measurement error and survey estimates: within-wave edit checks use responses to...

Pre-election polls sometimes fail to reach the purpose for which they are carried out: to provide accurate predictions of electoral out-comes. By looking at the 2006 Italian General Elections, this paper aims to assess the role that different factors play in determining the accuracy of the...

We compare two alternative mixed mode survey designs with face-to-face data collection in terms of differences in estimates. Both mixed mode designs involve face-to-face, telephone and web interviewing. One design uses modes sequentially; the other offers respondents an explicit choice of mode....

The British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) is the first study of its kind to have asked for permission to link to a range of administrative health records. Multivariate analysis is applied to investigate whether there is consent bias. We find that consent on the BHPS is not biased with respect to...

Mixed mode designs are increasingly important in surveys and large longitudinal studies are progressively moving to or considering such a design. In this context our knowledge regarding the impact of mixing modes on data quality indicators in longitudinal studies is sparse. This study tries to...