EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF ATTRITION AND UNDERREPORTING IN MAILBACK AND PERSONAL INTERVIEW PANEL SURVEYS

Panel data, in which the same observational units are surveyed at several points in time, offer a number of important advantages compared with more conventional cross-sectional or time-series data. However, panel data are also susceptible to specific forms of bias that do not affect cross-sectional or time-series data, for example, panel attrition, fatigue, and conditioning. If these sources of bias are not properly taken into account in the preanalysis of panel data, they may lead to serious distortion of the conclusions of substantive analyses. It is therefore important to seek a better understanding of the nature of these biases, how they arise, and how to deal with them. The objective of this paper is to explore these issues by presenting the results of the preanalysis of two different panel datasets collected in different countries at different times and using different survey approaches. The patterns of wave-to-wave attrition in the two datasets are compared, and various approaches to dealing with this problem are discussed.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.3141/1660-21
• Summary URL:
  • http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=EMPIRICAL+ANALYSIS+OF+ATTRITION+AND+UNDERREPORTING+IN+MAILBACK+AND+PERSONAL+INTERVIEW+PANEL+SURVEYS&author=J.+Polak&publication_year=1999
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309070570
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1660, Part 2: Improving Transportation Data.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Polak, J
• Publication Date: 1999

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 164-171
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1660
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Case studies; Fatigue (Physiological condition); Panel studies; Statistical bias; Travel surveys
• Uncontrolled Terms: Attrition; Conditioning (Psychology); Underreporting
• Subject Areas: Highways; Planning and Forecasting; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00769524
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309070570
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Sep 28 1999 12:00AM