Web Survey Bibliography
Nonresponse weighting is a common method for handling unit nonresponse in surveys. The method is aimed at reducing nonresponse bias, and it is often accompanied by an increase in variance. Hence, the efficacy of weighting adjustments is often seen as a bias-variance trade-off. This view is an oversimplification, nonresponse weighting can in fact lead to a reduction in variance as well as bias. A covariate for a weighting adjustment must have two characteristics to reduce nonresponse bias: it needs to be related to the probability of response, and it needs to be related to the survey outcome. If the latter is true, then weighting can reduce, not increase, sampling variance. A detailed analysis of bias and variance is provided in the setting of weighting for an estimate of a survey mean based on adjustment cells. The analysis suggests that the most important feature of variables for inclusion in weighting adjustments is that they are predictive of survey outcomes; prediction of the propensity to respond is a secondary, though useful, goal. Empirical estimates of root mean squared error for assessing when weighting is effective are proposed and evaluated in a simulation study. A simple composite estimator based on the empirical root mean squared error yields some gains over the weighted estimator in the simulations.
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Web survey bibliography - Survey Methodology (15)
- Does the first impression count? Examining the effect of the welcome screen design on the response rate...; 2013; Haer, R., Meidert, N.
- Optimizing quality of response through adaptive survey designs; 2013; Schouten, B., Calinescu, M., Luiten, A.
- Survey Quality; 2012; Lyberg, L. E.
- Why one should incorporate the design weights when adjusting for unit nonresponse using response homogeneity...; 2012; Kott, P. S.
- Innovations in survey sampling design: Discussion of three contributions presented at the U.S. Census...; 2011; Opsomer, J.
- A Bayesian analysis of small area probabilities under a constraint; 2011; Nandram, B., Sayit, H.
- Adaptive network and spatial sampling; 2011; Thompson, S. K.
- Nonsampling errors in dual frame telephone surveys ; 2011; Brick, J. M., Flores Cervantes, I., Lee, S., Norman, G.
- The multidimensional integral business survey response model; 2010; Bavdaz, M.
- Statistical foundations of cell-phone surveys; 2010; Wolter, K., Smith, P., Blumberg, S. J.
- Indicators for the representativeness of survey response; 2009; Schouten, B., Cobben, F., Bethlehem, J.
- Respondent Incentives in a Multi-Mode Panel Survey: Cumulative Effects on Non-Response and Bias; 2008; Jaeckle, A., Lynn, P.
- Methodology in Our Madness; 2007; Lynn, P.
- Does weighting for nonresponse increase the variance of survey means?; 2005; Little, R. J., Vartivarian, S.
- Understanding the question-answer process; 2004; Bradburn, N. M.