All time references are in CEST
Enhancing survey participation rates of migrants and ethnic minority groups through tailored recruitment strategies |
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| Session Organisers | Dr Michael Weinhardt (German Center of Gerontology (DZA)) Dr Mareike Bünning (German Center of Gerontology (DZA)) Dr Jannes Jacobsen (German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM)) Ms Katrin Pfündel (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees - Research Centre (BAMF-FZ)) |
| Time | Tuesday 18 July, 09:00 - 10:30 |
| Room | |
The proper inclusion of migrants and ethnic minorities into population surveys and panel studies is increasingly necessary to monitor the social situation and integration of these specific subgroups into European societies. Ignoring these growing parts of the population will most likely lead to biased parameter estimates for societies as a whole. However, migrants and ethnic minorities are often ‘hard to reach’ and hence underrepresented in general population surveys. Previous research indicates higher risks of unit nonresponse and lower rates of panel consent among these groups, rendering their inclusion demanding and costly. Innovative approaches to target and address ethnic minorities and migrants are thus essential to boost survey participation rates among migrants and their descendants. However, groups of ethnic minorities and migrants are very heterogeneous in themselves. This fact poses the question to what extent it is possible to identify common factors that help improve these groups' survey participation rates. How far can we go to target specific population subgroups, and where must we rely on commonalities between otherwise heterogeneous subgroups?
We invite papers that address how participation rates of ethnic and immigrant minorities can be increased through survey designs and communication strategies that are specifically tailored to the needs of these particular subgroups. Such strategies and designs may include, but are not limited to:
• Tailored communication strategies for specific target groups
• Adaptive survey designs
• Target-group specific and culturally sensitive fieldwork materials, such as advance letters and incentives
• Cooperation with stakeholders and gatekeepers from target communities to establish trust and identify group-specific barriers to survey participation
We welcome contributions across the methodological spectrum, from qualitative pretests and the participatory co-design of fieldwork materials to field reports, survey experiments and randomized controlled trials.
Keywords: Hard to reach populations, tailored survey design,
Mr Florian Heinritz (Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories) - Presenting Author
Refugees are increasingly targeted by surveys in the social sciences. Depending on the legal status of the refugees and the regulations of the receiving countries, refugees are often a very mobile group. Therefore, in panel studies, the question arises as to how these respondents can be reached and motivated to participate again. In the German refugee study ReGES (Refugees in the German Educational System), an app was used for this purpose in addition to the traditional communication channels (e.g., letters). With this app, the refugees could be contacted directly by sending messages and surveys could also be started directly via the app.
Compared to other modes used in other survey waves, the response rates for the surveys started directly via the app were very low. For this reason, the refugees were contacted periodically in a survey experiment with updates on the results of previous waves to find out how to make the app more attractive to respondents. Specifically, the aim of this experiment was to find out whether the frequency of contact and the way these results messages were presented had an effect on the evaluation of the app and later participation in the subsequent survey.
This contribution therefore first briefly introduces the app and how it is integrated into the study design before presenting the selective participation in the waves started via the app. The findings from the experiment are then presented. In the course of the experiment, however, too few of the respondents read the messages sent via the app for the original research questions to be answered. For this reason, the discussion concludes with lessons learnt and a brief outlook at the evaluation of the app by the respondents in the last survey wave.
Mrs Katharina Sandbrink (infas Institute for Applied Social Science) - Presenting Author
Mr Michael Ruland (infas Institute for Applied Social Science)
Individuals with a migration background participate often less likely in population surveys. The causes of this nonrandom dropout can be attributed to various aspects of study design. Communication strategies are particularly critical for mitigating unit nonresponse, especially in self-administered surveys where additional motivational efforts or interviewer persuasion are not feasible. Communication strategies should be designed to ensure that the target population understands the purpose of the survey and feels motivated to participate.
For individuals with a migration background, the question therefore arises as to whether a foreign-language communication strategy should be used in order to reduce nonresponse due to language barriers. However, the introduction of additional language versions incurs higher costs. Furthermore, the allocation to a linguistic group is associated with uncertainties, because sampling frames often provide limited or insufficient information to accurately determine the appropriate language version. From the respondents' perspective, the assignment to a linguistic group can also be perceived as stigmatizing and potentially resulting in unit nonresponse.
In a CAWI-PAPI survey conducted by infas, individuals residing in Germany with origins in predominantly Muslim-majority countries were surveyed. The sample was drawn from the German population registry. To enhance survey participation, multilingual invitation letters were distributed to a subset of the sample alongside the German version. The assignment of the respective foreign-language versions was based on an onomastic pre-qualification.
This paper examines whether the use of multilingual communication strategies positively influenced survey participation. Additionally, it analyzes whether specific target groups can be identified for whom such an approach is particularly beneficial.
Ms Hilal Sezgin-Just (Deutsches Zentrum für Altersfragen/German Centre of Gerontology) - Presenting Author
Dr Mareike Bünning (Deutsches Zentrum für Altersfragen/German Centre of Gerontology)
Dr Michael Weinhardt (Deutsches Zentrum für Altersfragen/German Centre of Gerontology)
Including migrant populations in surveys is vital for ensuring representative data. However, high nonresponse rates—particularly among Turkish migrants, one of Germany’s largest and historically underrepresented minority groups in research—pose significant obstacles to achieving inclusivity.
Our research focuses on developing tailored recruitment strategies to enhance the participation of Turkish migrants in population surveys and panel studies. We assume that personalized outreach and trust-building can significantly improve engagement and enhance the validity of data by ensuring it is more representative and reflective of the target population. To this end, we collaborate with Turkish community representatives to co-develop effective communication and motivation strategies.
The project employs a twofold methodology: expert interviews and focus groups. Interviews are conducted with key figures such as leaders of migrant organizations, religious representatives, journalists, and researchers to gain insights into effective outreach methods. The findings from these qualitative methods inform the design of customized fieldwork materials, such as personalized invitation letters and culturally tailored incentive systems. These strategies aim to build trust and reduce barriers to participation. Moreover, they contribute to methodological innovation by advancing inclusivity in survey practices. Subsequently, we will test the effectiveness of these innovations experimentally under field conditions.
This presentation highlights our initial results, examining barriers to survey participation and identifying survey design features that can enhance engagement. The outcomes of this study not only aim to improve the representativeness of surveys but also offer valuable guidelines for researchers working with other hard-to-reach populations, contributing to more inclusive social science methodologies.
Mr Tushar Dakua (International Institute for Population Sciences) - Presenting Author
Dr Kailash Chandra Das (International Institute for Population Sciences)
Labour migration between India and Nepal, characterized by a long-standing tradition of free movement across an open border. However, identifying and studying Indian labour migrants in Nepal presents unique challenges. This abstract explores the complexities of engaging with Indian communities, with a particular focus on sampling of labour migrants and the difficulties in distinguishing Indian migrants in Nepal, due to similar physique and socio-cultural practices. The shared cultural, linguistic, and ethnic similarities between Indian and Nepali populations further obscure the distinction, complicating targeted identification.
In the current study techniques such as respondent-driven sampling (RDS) or snowball sampling strategies was used to Indian immigrants. Engaging community gatekeepers and leveraging networks within labour hubs are crucial strategies for improving access to this population. As study aims to explore the integration scenario of immigrants in Nepal, stakeholders like (recruitment agents) were contacted first and strategies like (local dialects) of targeted group were used to establish trust. Interviewer used to visit targeted community premises with stakeholders and conducted awareness campaigning regarding integration problems in Nepal, and provided them with complementary meals during awareness campaigning. Sampling this population requires innovative and adaptive methodologies. Survey was conducted after few awareness campaigns and respondents were told that “There are hundreds of people like you who work in Nepal away from their native places. This study is a humble attempt to understand about those who come to Nepal, their life situations and integration. You have been scientifically selected to represent those persons. Your views are very important.”
This study highlights the need for interdisciplinary approaches and survey experiments to address the complexities of identifying and sampling Indian labour migrants in Nepal. Strengthening collaboration between researchers, stakeholders, and policymakers is essential to design effective interventions, to ensure the integration and inclusion of these marginalized populations in