Innovations in the conceptualization, measurement, and reduction of respondent burden 1 |
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| Coordinator 1 | Dr Douglas Williams (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) |
| Coordinator 2 | Dr Robin Kaplan (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) |
In an era of declining response rates, increasing use of multiple survey modes, and difficulties retaining respondents across multiple survey waves, the question of how to better understand, measure, and reduce respondent burden is crucial. In official statistics, respondent burden is often conceptualized in terms of objective measures, such as the length of time it takes to complete a survey and the number of questions asked. Bradburn (1978) posited that in addition to these objective measures, burden can be thought of as a multidimensional concept that can include respondents’ subjective perceptions of how effortful the survey is, how sensitive or invasive the questions are, and how long the survey is. The level of burden can also vary by the mode of data collection, survey characteristics, demographic and household characteristics of respondents, and the frequency with which individuals or businesses are sampled. Ultimately, respondent burden is concerning because of its potential to increase measurement error, attrition in panel surveys, survey nonresponse, and nonresponse bias, as well as impact data quality. Building on the recent Journal of Official Statistics Special Issue on Respondent Burden, we invite papers on new and innovative methods of measuring both objective and subjective perceptions of respondent burden, while also assessing and mitigating the impact of respondent burden on survey response and nonresponse bias. We welcome submissions that explore the following topics:
• The relationship between objective and subjective measures of respondent burden
• Strategies to assess or mitigate the impact of respondent burden
• Quantitative or qualitative research on respondents’ subjective perceptions of survey burden
• The relationship between respondent burden, response propensity, nonresponse bias, response rates, item nonresponse, and other data quality measures
• Sampling techniques, survey design, use of survey paradata, and other methodologies to help measure and reduce respondent burden
• Differences in respondent burden across different survey modes