Enhancing survey participation rates of migrants and ethnic minority groups through tailored recruitment strategies |
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| Coordinator 1 | Dr Michael Weinhardt (German Center of Gerontology (DZA)) |
| Coordinator 2 | Dr Mareike Bünning (German Center of Gerontology (DZA)) |
| Coordinator 3 | Dr Jannes Jacobsen (German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM)) |
| Coordinator 4 | Ms Katrin Pfündel (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees - Research Centre (BAMF-FZ)) |
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.