Effects of interviewer and respondent behavior on data quality: An investigation of question types and interviewer learning
Dr Antje Kirchner (University of Nebraska - Lincoln) Dr Kristen Olson (University of Nebraska - Lincoln)
Abstract: Despite attempts to fully standardize survey interviewing, interactions between respondents and interviewers are characterized by deviations from this protocol. Using structural equation modeling, this paper empirically examines the underlying latent factor structure for interviewer and respondent behaviors across different types of questions. We then assess how these factors affect data quality as measured by response latency and number of entry edits and how this relationship differs by question type. Finally, we investigate how these relationships change over the course of the data collection period, and are affected by sample composition and interviewers encountering less cooperative respondents.