Recruitment methods for surveys without field interviewers |
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| Coordinator 1 | Dr Cristian Domarchi (University of Southampton) |
| Coordinator 2 | Dr Olga Maslovskaya (University of Southampton) |
| Coordinator 3 | Mr Andrew Phelps (Office for National Statistics) |
In many countries, data collection organisations are undergoing a paradigm shift, with social surveys, including censuses, experiencing major transformations in their design and implementation. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, some data collection agencies started moving towards online data collection, as response rates in social surveys had been falling and fieldwork costs were increasing. The pandemic provided an opportunity to move surveys to self-administered modes with unprecedented speed and expedited existing transformation plans. However, some social surveys did not make this transition and several returned to face-to-face interviewing as soon as it was feasible to do so.
In this session, we would like to investigate the main barriers to effective recruitment in self-completion surveys in both cross-sectional and longitudinal contexts. Topics may include but are not restricted to the following areas:
• Recruitment strategies and practices.
• Knock-to-nudge and other innovations in recruitment methods.
• Targeted survey procedures for recruitment in self-completion surveys.
• Inclusivity and accessibility practices to engage population subgroups.
We encourage papers from researchers with a variety of backgrounds and across different sectors, including academia, national statistics, and research agencies. We particularly welcome contributions using experimental designs, and/or other methods that can inform future strategies for recruitment in self-completion surveys.
The session is proposed by Research Strand 4 of the Survey Futures project, “Surveys without Field Interviewers”. Survey Futures is a UKRI-ESRC funded research programme focused on ensuring large-scale social surveys in the UK can innovate and adapt in a changing environment. Survey Futures is a multi-institution collaboration between universities and survey practice organisations.