Interviewer Effects from a Total Survey Error Perspective presents a comprehensive collection of state-of-the-art research on interviewer-administered survey data collection. Interviewers play an essential role in the collection of the high-quality survey data used to learn about our society and improve the human condition. Although many surveys are conducted using self-administered modes, interviewer-administered modes continue to be optimal for surveys that require high levels of participation, include difficult-to-survey populations, and collect biophysical data. Survey interviewing is complex, multifaceted, and challenging. Interviewers are responsible for locating sampled units, contacting sampled individuals and convincing them to cooperate, asking questions on a variety of topics, collecting other kinds of data, and providing data about respondents and the interview environment. Careful attention to the methodology that underlies survey interviewing is essential for interviewer-administered data collections to succeed. In 2019, survey methodologists, survey practitioners, and survey operations specialists participated in an international workshop at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to identify best practices for surveys employing interviewers and outline an agenda for future methodological research. This book features 23 chapters on survey interviewing by these worldwide leaders in the theory and practice of survey interviewing. Chapters include: The legacy of Dr. Charles F. Cannell's groundbreaking research on training survey interviewers and the theory of survey interviewing Best practices for training survey interviewers Interviewer management and monitoring during data collection The complex effects of interviewers on survey nonresponse Collecting survey measures and survey paradata in different modes Designing studies to estimate and evaluate interviewer effects Best practices for analyzing interviewer effects Key gaps in the research literature, including an agenda for future methodological research Chapter appendices available to download from https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/sociw/ Written for managers of survey interviewers, survey methodologists, and students interested in the survey data collection process, this unique reference uses the Total Survey Error framework to examine optimal approaches to survey interviewing, presenting state-of-the-art methodological research on all stages of the survey process involving interviewers. Acknowledging the important history of survey interviewing while looking to the future, this one-of-a-kind reference provides researchers and practitioners with a roadmap for maximizing data quality in interviewer-administered surveys.

Big Data and Social Science: Data Science Methods and Tools for Research and Practice, Second Edition shows how to apply data science to real-world problems, covering all stages of a data-intensive social science or policy project. Prominent leaders in the social sciences, statistics, and computer science as well as the field of data science provide a unique perspective on how to apply modern social science research principles and current analytical and computational tools. The text teaches you how to identify and collect appropriate data, apply data science methods and tools to the data, and recognize and respond to data errors, biases, and limitations. Features: Takes an accessible, hands-on approach to handling new types of data in the social sciences Presents the key data science tools in a non-intimidating way to both social and data scientists while keeping the focus on research questions and purposes Illustrates social science and data science principles through real-world problems Links computer science concepts to practical social science research Promotes good scientific practice Provides freely available workbooks with data, code, and practical programming exercises, through Binder and GitHub New to the Second Edition: Increased use of examples from different areas of social sciences New chapter on dealing with Bias and Fairness in Machine Learning models Expanded chapters focusing on Machine Learning and Text Analysis Revamped hands-on Jupyter notebooks to reinforce concepts covered in each chapter This classroom-tested book fills a major gap in graduate- and professional-level data science and social science education. It can be used to train a new generation of social data scientists to tackle real-world problems and improve the skills and competencies of applied social scientists and public policy practitioners. It empowers you to use the massive and rapidly growing amounts of available data to interpret economic and social activities in a scientific and rigorous manner.

Interviewer Effects from a Total Survey Error Perspective presents a comprehensive collection of state-of-the-art research on interviewer-administered survey data collection. Interviewers play an essential role in the collection of the high-quality survey data used to learn about our society and improve the human condition. Although many surveys are conducted using self-administered modes, interviewer-administered modes continue to be optimal for surveys that require high levels of participation, include difficult-to-survey populations, and collect biophysical data. Survey interviewing is complex, multifaceted, and challenging. Interviewers are responsible for locating sampled units, contacting sampled individuals and convincing them to cooperate, asking questions on a variety of topics, collecting other kinds of data, and providing data about respondents and the interview environment. Careful attention to the methodology that underlies survey interviewing is essential for interviewer-administered data collections to succeed. In 2019, survey methodologists, survey practitioners, and survey operations specialists participated in an international workshop at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to identify best practices for surveys employing interviewers and outline an agenda for future methodological research. This book features 23 chapters on survey interviewing by these worldwide leaders in the theory and practice of survey interviewing. Chapters include: The legacy of Dr. Charles F. Cannell's groundbreaking research on training survey interviewers and the theory of survey interviewing Best practices for training survey interviewers Interviewer management and monitoring during data collection The complex effects of interviewers on survey nonresponse Collecting survey measures and survey paradata in different modes Designing studies to estimate and evaluate interviewer effects Best practices for analyzing interviewer effects Key gaps in the research literature, including an agenda for future methodological research Chapter appendices available to download from https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/sociw/ Written for managers of survey interviewers, survey methodologists, and students interested in the survey data collection process, this unique reference uses the Total Survey Error framework to examine optimal approaches to survey interviewing, presenting state-of-the-art methodological research on all stages of the survey process involving interviewers. Acknowledging the important history of survey interviewing while looking to the future, this one-of-a-kind reference provides researchers and practitioners with a roadmap for maximizing data quality in interviewer-administered surveys.

The goal of this book is to put an array of tools at the fingertips of students, practitioners, and researchers by explaining approaches long used by survey statisticians, illustrating how existing software can be used to solve survey problems, and developing some specialized software where needed. This volume serves at least three audiences: (1) students of applied sampling techniques; 2) practicing survey statisticians applying concepts learned in theoretical or applied sampling courses; and (3) social scientists and other survey practitioners who design, select, and weight survey samples. The text thoroughly covers fundamental aspects of survey sampling, such as sample size calculation (with examples for both single- and multi-stage sample design) and weight computation, accompanied by software examples to facilitate implementation. Features include step-by-step instructions for calculating survey weights, extensive real-world examples and applications, and representative programming code in R, SAS, and other packages. Since the publication of the first edition in 2013, there have been important developments in making inferences from nonprobability samples, in address-based sampling (ABS), and in the application of machine learning techniques for survey estimation. New to this revised and expanded edition: * Details on new functions in the PracTools package * Additional machine learning methods to form weighting classes * New coverage of nonlinear optimization algorithms for sample allocation * Reflecting effects of multiple weighting steps (nonresponse and calibration) on standard errors * A new chapter on nonprobability sampling * Additional examples, exercises, and updated references throughout Richard Valliant, PhD, is Research Professor Emeritus at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan and at the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland. He is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, an elected member of the International Statistical Institute, and has been an Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Statistical Association, Journal of Official Statistics, and Survey Methodology. Jill A. Dever, PhD, is Senior Research Statistician at RTI International in Washington, DC. She is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, Associate Editor for Survey Methodology and the Journal of Official Statistics, and an Assistant Research Professor in the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland. She has served on several panels for the National Academy of Sciences and as a task force member for the American Association of Public Opinion Research's report on nonprobability sampling. Frauke Kreuter, PhD, is Professor and Director of the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland, Professor of Statistics and Methodology at the University of Mannheim, and Head of the Statistical Methods Research Department at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) in Nurnberg, Germany. She is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and has been Associate Editor of the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Journal of Official Statistics, Sociological Methods and Research, Survey Research Methods, Public Opinion Quarterly, American Sociological Review, and the Stata Journal. She is founder of the International Program for Survey and Data Science and co-founder of the Coleridge Initiative.

Big Data and Social Science: Data Science Methods and Tools for Research and Practice, Second Edition shows how to apply data science to real-world problems, covering all stages of a data-intensive social science or policy project. Prominent leaders in the social sciences, statistics, and computer science as well as the field of data science provide a unique perspective on how to apply modern social science research principles and current analytical and computational tools. The text teaches you how to identify and collect appropriate data, apply data science methods and tools to the data, and recognize and respond to data errors, biases, and limitations. Features: Takes an accessible, hands-on approach to handling new types of data in the social sciences Presents the key data science tools in a non-intimidating way to both social and data scientists while keeping the focus on research questions and purposes Illustrates social science and data science principles through real-world problems Links computer science concepts to practical social science research Promotes good scientific practice Provides freely available workbooks with data, code, and practical programming exercises, through Binder and GitHub New to the Second Edition: Increased use of examples from different areas of social sciences New chapter on dealing with Bias and Fairness in Machine Learning models Expanded chapters focusing on Machine Learning and Text Analysis Revamped hands-on Jupyter notebooks to reinforce concepts covered in each chapter This classroom-tested book fills a major gap in graduate- and professional-level data science and social science education. It can be used to train a new generation of social data scientists to tackle real-world problems and improve the skills and competencies of applied social scientists and public policy practitioners. It empowers you to use the massive and rapidly growing amounts of available data to interpret economic and social activities in a scientific and rigorous manner.

The goal of this book is to put an array of tools at the fingertips of students, practitioners, and researchers by explaining approaches long used by survey statisticians, illustrating how existing software can be used to solve survey problems, and developing some specialized software where needed. This volume serves at least three audiences: (1) students of applied sampling techniques; 2) practicing survey statisticians applying concepts learned in theoretical or applied sampling courses; and (3) social scientists and other survey practitioners who design, select, and weight survey samples. The text thoroughly covers fundamental aspects of survey sampling, such as sample size calculation (with examples for both single- and multi-stage sample design) and weight computation, accompanied by software examples to facilitate implementation. Features include step-by-step instructions for calculating survey weights, extensive real-world examples and applications, and representative programming code in R, SAS, and other packages. Since the publication of the first edition in 2013, there have been important developments in making inferences from nonprobability samples, in address-based sampling (ABS), and in the application of machine learning techniques for survey estimation. New to this revised and expanded edition: * Details on new functions in the PracTools package * Additional machine learning methods to form weighting classes * New coverage of nonlinear optimization algorithms for sample allocation * Reflecting effects of multiple weighting steps (nonresponse and calibration) on standard errors * A new chapter on nonprobability sampling * Additional examples, exercises, and updated references throughout Richard Valliant, PhD, is Research Professor Emeritus at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan and at the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland. He is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, an elected member of the International Statistical Institute, and has been an Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Statistical Association, Journal of Official Statistics, and Survey Methodology. Jill A. Dever, PhD, is Senior Research Statistician at RTI International in Washington, DC. She is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, Associate Editor for Survey Methodology and the Journal of Official Statistics, and an Assistant Research Professor in the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland. She has served on several panels for the National Academy of Sciences and as a task force member for the American Association of Public Opinion Research's report on nonprobability sampling. Frauke Kreuter, PhD, is Professor and Director of the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland, Professor of Statistics and Methodology at the University of Mannheim, and Head of the Statistical Methods Research Department at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) in Nurnberg, Germany. She is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and has been Associate Editor of the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Journal of Official Statistics, Sociological Methods and Research, Survey Research Methods, Public Opinion Quarterly, American Sociological Review, and the Stata Journal. She is founder of the International Program for Survey and Data Science and co-founder of the Coleridge Initiative.

In regelmassigen Abstanden - besonders oft zu Wahlkampfzeiten - hat die Diskussion uber innere Sicherheit auf Bundes- und Landesebene Hochkonjunktur. Dabei spielen Unsicherheit und Kriminalitatsfurcht eine zentrale Rolle. Meist wird das Ausmass der Furcht aus Ergebnissen von Befragungen abgeleitet. Wie bei allen sozialwissenschaftlichen Konstrukten stellt sich jedoch die Frage nach der Qualitat der so erhobenen Daten. In diesem Buch werden bisher verwendete Messinstrumente untersucht und mogliche Alternativen diskutiert. Dazu werden Daten aus qualitativen Intensivinterviews, Experimenten und bundesweiten Surveys verwendet. Das Konstrukt Kriminalitatsfurcht ist ein Beispiel fur Einstellungen, die mit Hilfe von Befragungsdaten gemessen werden. Demnach sind die hier dargestellten Gutekriterien und ihre Anwendung beispielhaft fur die Messung anderer Einstellungskonstrukte. In dieser Hinsicht kann dieses Buch fur Methodologen und Sozialforscher aller Anwendungsfelder von Nutzen sein."