Attitudes Toward Surveys, Attitude Accessibility and the Effect on Respondents’ Susceptibility to Nonresponse

This paper analyzes whether respondents’ attitudes toward surveys explain their susceptibility to item nonresponse. In contrast to previous studies, the decision to refuse to provide income information, not to answer other questions and the probability of ‘don’t know’ responses is tested separately. Furthermore, the interviewers’ overall judgments of response willingness was included as well. Respondents with a positive and cognitively accessible attitude toward surveys were expected to adopt a cooperative orientation and were thus deemed more likely to answer difficult as well as sensitive questions. Attitudes were measured with a 16-item instrument and the response latencies were used as an indicator for attitude accessibility. We found that respondents with more favorable evaluations of surveys had lower values on all kinds of nonresponse indicators. Except for the strong effect on the prevalence of ‘don’t knows’, survey attitudes were increasingly more predictive for all other aspects of nonresponse when these attitude answers were faster and thus cognitively more accessible. This accessibility, and thus how relevant survey attitudes are for nonresponse, was found to increase with the subjects’ exposure to surveys in the past.     

An optional scrambled randomized response technique for practical surveys

Eichhorn and Hayre (J Stat Plan Inference 7:307–316, 1983) introduced the scrambled response technique to gather information on sensitive quantitative variables. Singh and Joarder (Metron 15:151–157, 1997), Gupta et al. (J Stat Plan Inference 100:239–247, 2002) and Bar-Lev et al. (Metrika 60:255–260, 2004) permitted the respondents either to report their true values on the sensitive quantitative variable or the scrambled response and developed the optional randomized response (ORR) technique based on simple random sample with replacement (SRSWR). While developing the ORR procedure, these authors made the assumption that the probability of disclosing the true response or the randomized response (RR) is the same for all the individuals in a population. This is not a very realistic assumption as in practical survey situations the probability of reporting the true value or the RR generally varies from unit to unit. Moreover, if one generalizes the ORR method as developed by these authors relaxing the ‘constant probability’ assumption, the variance of an unbiased estimator for the population total or mean can not be estimated as this involves the unknown parameter, ‘the probability of revealing the true response’. Here we propose a modified ORR procedure for stratified unequal probability sampling after relaxing the assumption of ‘constant probability’ of providing the true response. It is also demonstrated with a numerical exercise that our procedure produces better estimator for a population total than that provided by the method suggested by the earlier authors.     

Evaluating the Validity of Self-Reported Deviant Behavior Using Vignette Analyses

In this paper, the validity of vignette analyses of various forms of deviant behavior in the presence of opportunities is analyzed on the basis of ideas derived from cognitive psychology. Abelson’s Script Theory together with insights into human memory of visual and verbal information, allow the assumption that vignette analyses using visual stimuli are valid measures of deviant behavior in particular. The study includes an empirical examination of these ideas (n = 450). Nonparticipant observations and vignette analyses with visual and verbal material were carried out with regard to three forms of deviant behavior occurring in the presence of opportunities presenting themselves in everyday life. Observed and self-reported frequencies of deviant behavior or deviant intentions were counted and cross-tabulated. Log-linear analyses with dummy coding using observation data as reference category were run. Data analyses yielded the result that frequencies of deviant behavior were related to the techniques of data collection under consideration. Especially vignette analyses of the return of ‘lost letters’ that use both visual and verbal stimuli overestimate ‘actual’ (i.e. observed) return rates. This result is discussed with regard to the underlying methodological assumptions as well as its implications.     

Estimating regression coefficients from survey data by asymptotic design-cum-model based approach

Postulating a linear regression of a variable of interest on an auxiliary variable with values of the latter known for all units of a survey population, we consider appropriate ways of choosing a sample and estimating the regression parameters. Recalling Thomsen’s (1978) results on non-existence of ‘design-cum-model’ based minimum variance unbiased estimators of regression coefficients we apply Brewer’s (1979) ‘asymptotic’ analysis to derive ‘asymptotic-design-cummodel’ based optimal estimators assuming large population and sample sizes. A variance estimation procedure is also proposed.     

Effective Repair in Survey Interviews

In standardized survey interviews with closed-ended questions it quite often occurs that respondents do something else than mentioning their choice from the set of response categories presented together with the question. In these cases their initial response is inadequate and interviewers have to initiate repair activities. By analyzing 804 question–answer sequences, stemming from parts of a survey with elderly people (N=201), we found that 322 (41%) of the initial responses were inadequate. In 74% of these 332 sequences the interviewers made an attempt at repair. Of all repair attempts, 75% were performed correctly, that is, in a nondirective way. Most of the repair attempts (86%) result in an adequate final response of the respondent. The result of the repair activities by the interviewers is that the number of sequences with an adequate response increased from 472 to 688, thus an increase of about 45%. There does not exist ‘one best way’ of repairing. The most important thing is that some repair initiative has to be taken by the interviewer and that the repair is done in a nondirective way.     

Taking ‘Don’t Knows’ as Valid Responses: A Multiple Complete Random Imputation of Missing Data

Incomplete data is a common problem of survey research. Recent work on multiple imputation techniques has increased analysts’ awareness of the biasing effects of missing data and has also provided a convenient solution. Imputation methods replace non-response with estimates of the unobserved scores. In many instances, however, non-response to a stimulus does not result from measurement problems that inhibit accurate surveying of empirical reality, but from the inapplicability of the survey question. In such cases, existing imputation techniques replace valid non-response with counterfactual estimates of a situation in which the stimulus is applicable to all respondents. This paper suggests an alternative imputation procedure for incomplete data for which no true score exists: multiple complete random imputation, which overcomes the biasing effects of missing data and allows analysts to model respondents’ valid ‘I don’t know’ answers.     

Measuring opinion distributions

In this study it will be argued that the perceived distribution of opinions among others is important for opinion research. Three different ways of measuring the perception of opinion distributions in survey research are compared: (a) by means of a questionwhat most people think about an issue, (b) by means of a questionhow many people are perceived to agree with an issue-statement, (c) by means of ‘line-production-boxes’, a special version ofmagnitude estimation. The results indicate that ‘line-production-boxes’ can improve data quality, but have also some drawbacks which will have to be dealt with. ‘Line-production-boxes’ give a wealth of information about individual differences in the forms of perceived opinion distributions. Although the normal distribution is used often, many other distribution forms are also used. The method of ‘line-production-boxes’ is compared with the method of estimating percentage points. Although high correlations suggest a good concurrent validity, some systematic differences do exist. New research directions are suggested.     

Estimating sensitive proportions from Warner’s randomized responses in alternative ways restricting to only distinct units sampled

Warner’s (J Am Stat Assoc 60:63–69, 1965) pioneering ‘randomized response’ (RR) technique (RRT), useful in unbiasedly estimating the proportion of people bearing a sensitive characteristic, is based exclusively on simple random sampling (SRS) with replacement (WR). Numerous developments that follow from it also use SRSWR and employ in estimation the mean of the RR’s yielded by each person everytime he/she is drawn in the sample. We examine how the accuracy in estimation alters when instead we use the mean of the RR’s from each distinct person sampled and also alternatively if the Horvitz and Thompson’s (HT, J Am Stat Assoc 47:663–685, 1952) method is employed for an SRSWR eliciting only, a single RR from each. Arnab’s (1999) approach of using repeated RR’s from each distinct person sampled is not taken up here to avoid algebraic complexity. Pathak’s (Sánkhya 24:287–302, 1962) results for direct response (DR) from SRSWR are modified with the use of such RR’s. Through simulations we present relative levels in accuracy in estimation by the above three alternative methods.     

The cost of Corporate Social Responsibility: the case of the Community Reinvestment Act

A Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) cost minimization model is employed to estimate the cost to thrift institutions of achieving a rating of ‘outstanding’ under the anti-redlining Community Reinvestment Act, which is viewed as an act of voluntary Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). There is no difference in overall cost efficiency between ‘outstanding’ and minimally compliant ‘satisfactory’ thrifts. However, the sources of cost inefficiency do differ, and an ‘outstanding’ rating involves annual extra cost of $6.547 million or, 1.2% of total costs. This added cost is the shadow price of CSR since it is not an explicit output or input in the DEA cost model. Before and after-tax rates of return are the same for the ‘outstanding’ and ‘satisfactory’ thrifts, which implies a recoupment of the extra cost. The findings are consistent with CSR as a management choice based on balancing marginal cost and marginal revenue. An incidental finding is that larger thrifts are less efficient.

The ��Teachability Dilemma�� of entrepreneurship

Important factors that determine the emergence of new start-ups are the existence of the individuals’ entrepreneurial motivation, knowledge and skills. Entrepreneurship education (EE) seems to play an important role in developing these attributes. However, a fundamental question still remains: is entrepreneurship really teachable? The article, conceptual in nature, offers a survey about the scientific discussion on the teachability of entrepreneurship and comes out with a phenomenon, which we call ‘Teachability Dilemma’. The insights lead us to claim that future EE should desist from simply teaching knowledge on business creation and rather focus on experiencing entrepreneurship.     

Pre-assigned rents and bureaucratic friction

In this paper we study the endogenous determination of bureaucratic friction in a bureaucratic contest with () and without (n = 1) rent contestability. When n= 1 bureaucratic impediments induce the individual to undertake rent-securing activities at the same level as in the two-player rent-seeking contest. However, under rent contestability the bureaucracy no longer serves as a means of extracting resources from the public. The paper concludes with the study of the effect of ‘net costs’ on bureaucratic friction. It turns out that under cotestability the only reason for creating bureaucratic friction is the ‘negative costs’ it incurs while when n = 1 the effect of the bureaucrat's net costs of generating bureaucratic friction on the optimal degree of such friction is ambiguous. Received: October 30, 2000 / Accepted: December 28, 2001 RID="*" ID="*" The authors are grateful to two anonymous referees for their valuable comments     

Selective Response to Questions on Delinquency*

In the German General Survey 2000 (ALLBUS), the so-called ‘Sealed Envelope Technique’ (SET), was utilized to obtain data on an individuals’ self-admitted delinquency. The focus of this article is to discover, particularly, the reason respondents refused to fill in this confidential questionnaire in spite of the guaranteed anonymity. From a theoretical perspective of subjective expected utility, the assumption is that respondents are interested in maximizing benefits and avoiding social costs in the interview situation. Consequently, responses provided are optimal realizations of the respondents’ interest. Furthermore, the respondents’ intellectual capacity in understanding the questions, the SET applied, the interviewer characteristics, and aspects of the interview situation, were presumably responsible for refusals on sensitive questions. The ALLBUS 2000 data confirm these hypotheses. The selectivity of self-reported delinquency on matters concerning fare avoidance and tax evasion also resulted in biased model estimators of determinants regarding anticipated future delinquency. Mail survey is one supported view on improving data quality in self-admitted acts of delinquency. However, before firm conclusions can be drawn, more empirical data is needed on the processes and mechanisms involved in a respondents refusal to answer questions on delinquency. * An empirical assessment on the effectiveness of the ‘Sealed Envelope Technique’ for self-admitted delinquency through the utilization of the German General Social Survey 2000 data.     

A note on randomized response models for quantitative data

Standard randomized response (RR) models deal primarily with surveys which usually require a yes or a no response to a sensitive question, or a choice for responses from a set of nominal categories. As opposed to that, Eichhorn and Hayre (1983) have considered survey models involving a quantitative response variable and proposed an RR technique for it. Such models are very useful in studies involving a measured response variable which is highly sensitive in its nature. Eichhorn and Hayre obtained an unbiased estimate for the expectation of the quantitative response variable of interest. In this note we propose a procedure which uses a design parameter (controlled by the experimenter) that generalizes Eichhorn and Hayres results. Such a procedure yields an estimate for the desired expectation which has a uniformly smaller variance.Acknowledgements We are grateful to two referees for their valuable and constructive comments.     

The generalized Stackelberg equilibrium of the all-pay auction with complete information

We characterize the equilibrium of the all-pay auction with general convex cost of effort and sequential effort choices. We consider a set of n players who are arbitrarily partitioned into a group of players who choose their efforts ‘early’ and a group of players who choose ‘late’. Only the player with the lowest cost of effort has a positive payoff in any equilibrium. This payoff depends on his own timing vis-a-vis the timing of others. We also show that the choice of timing can be endogenized, in which case the strongest player typically chooses ‘late’, whereas all other players are indifferent with respect to their choice of timing. In the most prominent equilibrium the player with the lowest cost of effort wins the auction at zero aggregate cost. We thank Dan Kovenock and Luis C. Corchón for discussion and helpful comments. The usual caveat applies. Wolfgang Leininger likes to express his gratitude to Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin (WZB) for its generous hospitality and financial support.     

Response of double-auction markets to instantaneous Selling�CBuying signals with stochastic Bid�CAsk spread

Statistical properties of order-driven double-auction markets with Bid–Ask spread are investigated through the dynamical quantities such as response function. We first attempt to utilize the so-called Madhavan–Richardson–Roomans model (MRR for short) to simulate the stochastic process of the price-change in empirical data sets (say, EUR/JPY or USD/JPY exchange rates) in which the Bid–Ask spread fluctuates in time. We find that the MRR theory apparently fails to simulate so much as the qualitative behaviour (‘non-monotonic’ behaviour) of the response function R(l) (l denotes the difference of times at which the response function is evaluated) calculated from the data. Especially, we confirm that the stochastic nature of the Bid–Ask spread causes apparent deviations from a linear relationship between the R(l) and the auto-correlation function C(l), namely, R(l) μ -C(l){R(l) \propto -C(l)}. To make the microscopic model of double-auction markets having stochastic Bid–Ask spread, we use the minority game with a finite market history length and find numerically that appropriate extension of the game shows quite similar behaviour of the response function to the empirical evidence. We also reveal that the minority game modeling with the adaptive (‘annealed’) look-up table reproduces the non-linear relationship R(l) μ -f(C(l)){R(l) \propto -f(C(l))} (f(x) stands for a non-linear function leading to ‘λ-shapes’) more effectively than the fixed (‘quenched’) look-up table does.     

On the calibration of design weights using a displacement function

In the present investigation, we propose a new method to calibrate the estimator of the general parameter of interest in survey sampling. We demonstrate that the linear regression estimator due to Hansen et al. (Sample Survey Method and Theory. Wiley, NY, 1953) is a special case of this. We reconfirm that the sum of calibrated weights has to be set equal to sum of the design weights within a given sample as shown in Singh (Advanced sampling theory with applications: How Michael ‘selected’ Amy, Vol. 1 and 2. Kluwer, The Netherlands, pp 1–1247, 2003; Proceedings of the American Statistical Association, Survey Method Section [CD-ROM], Toronto, Canada: American Statistical Association, pp 4382–4389, 2004; Metrika:1–18, 2006a; Presented at INTERFACE 2006, Pasadena, CA, USA, 2006b) and Stearns and Singh (Presented at Joint Statistical Meeting, MN, USA (Available on the CD), 2005; Comput Stat Data Anal 52:4253–4271, 2008). Thus, it shows that the Sir. R.A. Fisher’s brilliant idea of keeping sum of observed frequencies equal to that of expected frequencies leads to a “Honest-Balance” while weighing design weights in survey sampling. The major benefit of the proposed new estimator is that it always works unlike the pseudo empirical likelihood estimators listed in Owen (Empirical Likelihood. Chapman & Hall, London, 2001), Chen and Sitter (Stat Sin 9:385–406, 1999) and Wu (Sur Methodol 31(2):239–243, 2005). The main endeavor of this paper is to bring a change in the existing calibration technology, which is based on only positive distance functions, with a displacement function that has the flexibility of taking positive, negative, or zero value. At the end, the proposed technology has been compared with its competitors under several kinds of linear and non-linear non-parametric models using an extensive simulation study. A couple of open questions are raised.     

On the discrete mean past lifetime

Let T denote a positive discrete survival time and n a non-negative integer number. Properties of the mean past lifetime E(n  −  T|T  <  n) are provided. M. Asadi’s work is supported by the University of Isfahan Grant 850713.     

The potential of a multi-mode data collection design to reduce non response bias. The case of a survey of employers

The aim of the paper is to compare two alternative survey designs in terms of resultant response rates, non response bias and cost. The first design is a simple postal survey with follow-up mailings; the second design is a two-phase multi-mode design, where the postal survey is followed at the second phase by a telephone survey of non-respondents. We present a case study based on a survey of employers. In this study we find evidence that the sample obtained using only postal methods is biased in important respects. Bias is not apparent in the demographic characteristics of the employees. But bias is observed in some of the employees’ employment characteristics and some of the characteristics of the firms in which they work. The multi mode design seems, overall, to have reduced or removed the bias of the postal sample. Only in marginal respects was some further bias introduced. We also compare costs of the two designs, to enable a comparison of cost-effectiveness at bias reduction.     

Reflections on PATCO’s Legacy: Labor’s Strategic Challenges Persist

The 1981 PATCO strike stands out as a symbol of union decline. The penchant to stigmatize PATCO detracts from important aspects of the union’s unorthodox strategy. Preparations for 1981 negotiations were coordinated by rank-and-file activists who referred to themselves as ‘choir boys’. An extensive mobilization network cultivated by the ‘choir boys’ contributed to cohesiveness and in effect democratized PATCO. The union’s effectiveness in building internal solidarity was its most notable accomplishment. Twenty-first-century labor-movement revitalization will require not only strong, creative leadership but also rank-and-file mobilization in the mold of PATCO’s ‘choir boy’ system. It is this type of grassroots activism that has the potential to promote an internal culture of militant action which can serve as the foundation for union growth.