Survey nonresponse research: appendices
Appendices to the Understanding Survey Nonresponse Behaviours main report, providing detailed information on each element of the research, including the literature review, analysis of nonresponse data, and qualitative research with interviewers, survey stakeholders, and the general public.
References
Abelson, R. P. (1981). Psychological Status of the Script Concept. American Psychologist. 36, 7, 715-729.
Ackermann-Piek, D., Silber, H., Daikeler, J., Martin, S., & Edwards, B. (2020). Interviewer Training Guidelines of Multinational Survey Programs: A Total Survey Error Perspective. Methods, Data, Analyses, 14(1), Article 1.
Amaya, A., & Harring, J. R. (2017). Assessing the Effect of Social Integration on Unit Nonresponse in Household Surveys. Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology.
Becker, R. (2023). The Researcher, the Incentive, the Panelists and Their Response: The Role of Strong Reciprocity for the Panelists’ Survey Participation. Survey Research Methods, 17(3), 223–242.
Blom, A. G., Leeuw, E. D., & Hox, J. (2010). Interviewer Effects on Nonresponse in the European Social Survey. SSRN Electronic Journal.
Bowley, A.L. (1913). Working-class households in reading Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, 76(7), 672-701.
Bradburn, N. M. (2015). Surveys as Social Interactions. Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology, 4(1), 94–109.
Braekman, E., Demarest, S., Charafeddine, R., Drieskens, S., Berete, F., Gisle, L., Van der Heyden, J., & Van Hal, G. (2022). Unit Response and Costs in Web Versus Face-To-Face Data Collection: Comparison of Two Cross-sectional Health Surveys. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 24(1), e26299.
Brick, J. M. (2013). Unit Nonresponse and Weighting Adjustments: A Critical Review. Journal of Official Statistics, 29(3), 329–353.
Brick, J. M., and Williams, D. (2013). Explaining Rising Nonresponse Rates in Cross-Sectional Surveys. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 645(1), 36–59.
Cantor, D., Allen, B., Schneider, S. J., Hagerty-Heller, T., & Yuan, A. (2004). Testing an automated refusal avoidance training methodology. Paper presented at the 60th Annual Conference of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, Phoenix, AZ.
Charman, C., Mesplie-Cown, S. and Collins, D. (2024) Report 1: the post-pandemic role of face-to-face fieldworkers. Survey Futures.
Chetty, R., Jackson, M.O., Kuchler, T. et al. Social capital I: measurement and associations with economic mobility. Nature 608, 108–121 (2022).
Christensen, A. I., Ekholm, O., Glümer, C., and Juel, K. (2014). Effect of survey mode on response patterns: Comparison of face-to-face and self-administered modes in health surveys. European Journal of Public Health, 24(2), 327–332.
Cialdini, R. B. (2009). Influence: Science and practice (6th ed.). Pearson.
Conrad, F. G., Schober, M. F., Hupp, A. L., West, B. T., Larsen, K. M., Ong, A. R., & Wang, T. (2023). Video in Survey Interviews: Effects on Data Quality and Respondent Experience. Methods, Data, Analyses, 17, 35 Pages.
Couper, M. P., Singer, E., Conrad, F. G., & Groves, R. M. (2008). Risk of Disclosure, Perceptions of Risk, and Concerns about Privacy and Confidentiality as Factors in Survey Participation. Journal of official statistics, 24(2), 255–275.
Crane, S., & Broome, M. E. (2017). Understanding Ethical Issues of Research Participation from the Perspective of Participating Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 14(3), 200–209.
Dillman, D. (1978). Mail and Telephone Surveys. New York, Wiley.
Dillman, D., Smyth, J.D., and Christian, L. M. (2014). Internet, Phone, Mail and Mixed-Mode surveys: the Tailored Design Method (4th edition), Wiley.
Durand, C., Gagnon, M.-E., Doucet, C., & Lacourse, E. (2006). An inquiry into the efficacy of a complementary training session for telephone survey interviewers. Bulletin de Méthodologie Sociologique, 92(1), 5-27.
Durrant, G. B., & Steele, F. (2009). Multilevel modelling of refusal and non-contact in household surveys: Evidence from six UK Government surveys. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A (Statistics in Society), 172(2), 361–381.
Durrant, G. B., Groves, R. M., Staetsky, L., & Steele, F. (2010). Effects of Interviewer Attitudes and Behaviors on Refusal in Household Surveys. Public Opinion Quarterly, 74(1), 1–36.
European Social Survey (Data Portal Rounds 1 and 10).
Eggleston, J. (2024). Frequent Survey Requests and Declining Response Rates: Evidence from the 2020 Census and Household Surveys. Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology.
Eggleston, J., & Sawyer, C. (2024). Connected and uncooperative: The effects of homogeneous and exclusive social networks on survey response rates and nonresponse bias (CES‑WP‑24‑01). U.S. Census Bureau, Center for Economic Studies
Field, A. (2020). Survey fatigue and the tragedy of the commons: Are we undermining our evaluation practice? Evaluation Matters—He Take Tō Te Aromatawai, 1–11.
Fitzgerald, J., Gottschalk, P., & Moffitt, R. (1998). An analysis of sample attrition in panel data. Journal of Human Resources, 33 (2), 251–299.
Fitzgerald, J. M. (2011). Attrition in Models of Intergenerational Links Using the PSID with Extensions to Health and to Sibling Models. The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 11(3).
Friedel, S. (2020). What They Expect Is What You Get: The Role of Interviewer Expectations in Nonresponse to Income and Asset Questions. Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology, 8(5), 851–876.
Glass, D., Kelsall, H., Slegers, C., Forbes, A., Loff, B., Zion, D., and Fritschi, L. (2015). A telephone survey of factors affecting willingness to participate in health research surveys. BMC Public Health, 15(1), 1017.
Goyder, J., Lock, J., and McNair, T. (1992). Urbanization Effects on Survey Nonresponse: A Test Within and Across Cities. Quality and Quantity.
Goyder, J., Boyer, L., and Martinelli, G. (2006). Integrating Exchange and Heuristic Theories of Survey Nonresponse. Bulletin of Sociological Methodology/Bulletin de Méthodologie Sociologique, 92(1), 28–44.
Graham, J., Grewal, I. and Lewis, J. (2007) Ethics in social research: the views of research participants, Government Social Research Unit.
Greinacher, A., Fendrich, K. and Hoffmann, W. (2010), Demographic changes: the impact for safe blood supply. ISBT Science Series, 5: 239-243.
Groves, R. M., Couper, M. P. (1998). Nonresponse in household interview surveys. Wiley.
Groves, R. M., Cialdini, R. B., and Couper, M. P. (1992). Understanding The Decision to Participate in a Survey. Public Opinion Quarterly, 56(4), 475.
Groves, R. M., Peytcheva, E. (2008). The impact of nonresponse rates on nonresponse bias: a meta-analysis. Public opinion quarterly, 72(2), 167-189.
Groves, R., Presser, S., Tourangeau, R., Couper, M., Singer, E., and Toppe, C. (2012). Support for the Survey Sponsor and Nonresponse Bias. Public Opinion Quarterly. 76. 512-524.
Groves, R. M., E. Singer, and A. Corning (2000). Leverage-Saliency Theory of Survey Participation: Description and an Illustration. Public Opinion Quarterly, 64, 299–308.
Hall, J., Brown, V., Nicolaas, G., & Lynn, P. (2013). Extended Field Efforts to Reduce the Risk of Non-response Bias: Have the Effects Changed over Time? Can Weighting Achieve the Same Effects? Bulletin of Sociological Methodology/Bulletin de Méthodologie Sociologique, 117(1), 5–25.
Hanson, T., Briceno-Rosas. R., Ainsaar, M., Kartau, H. K. (2024). Live Video Interviewing as a Complementary Mode to In-Person Interviews: Evidence from the European Social Survey. Survey Futures Working Paper No. 02.
Hendra, R., & Hill, A. (2019). Rethinking Response Rates: New Evidence of Little Relationship Between Survey Response Rates and Nonresponse Bias. Evaluation Review, 43(5), 307–330.
Hofferth, S. L. (2001). Women's employment and care of children in the United States. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 22(2), 181-217.
Hutcheson, L., Martin, C., & Millar, C. (2020). Scottish Household Survey: Response rates, Reissuing and Survey Quality 2018.
Jabkowski, P., Cichocki, P. (2024). Survey response rates in European comparative surveys: A 20-year decline irrespective of sampling frames or survey modes. Quality and Quantity.
Jackle, A., Lynn, P., Sinibaldi, J., & Tipping, S. (n.d.). The Effect of Interviewer Experience, Attitudes, Personality and Skills on Respondent Co-operation with Face-to-Face Surveys. 15.
Jankowski, P and Cichocki, P (2024) Survey response rates in European comparative surveys: a 20-year decline irrespective of sampling frames or survey modes. In Quality and Quantity, vol 59.
Jeong, D., Aggarwal, S., Robinson, J., Kumar, N., Spearot, A., and Park, D. S. (n.d.). Exhaustive or exhausting? Evidence on respondent fatigue in long surveys.
Joinson, A. N., Woodley, A., & Reips, U.-D. (2007). Topic sensitivity and research design: Effects on internet survey respondents' motives. Computers in Human Behavior, 23(1), 275-285.
Krosnick, J. A. (2005). The Correlates of Survey Participation. Unpublished manuscript, Stanford, CA: Stanford University.
Lavrakas, P. J., and Kocar, S. (2023). A Low-cost Method to Try to Improve Panel Survey Representation. Survey Practice, 16(1).
Leeper, T. J. (2019). Where Have the Respondents Gone? Perhaps We Ate Them All. Public Opinion Quarterly, 83(S1), 280–288.
Loosveldt, G and Joye, D (2016) ‘Defining and assessing survey climate’ in The Sage handbook of survey methodology, edited by Wolf, C., Joye, D., Smith, T. W., Fu, Y.-c., pp. 67-76, Los Angeles, CA: Sage, 2016
Lynn, P., Beerten, R, Laiho, J. and Martin, J. (October 2001) ‘Recommended Standard Final Outcome Categories and Standard Definitions of Response Rate for Social Surveys’, Working Papers of the Institute for Social and Economic Research, paper 2001-23. Colchester: University of Essex.
Lynn, P. (2024, October 15). A framework for identifying and addressing the risks of exclusion from social surveys (Survey Futures Working Paper No. 2024‑03). Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex.
McGonagle, K. A., & Freedman, V. A. (2017). The Effects of a Delayed Incentive on Response Rates, Response Mode, Data Quality, and Sample Bias in a Nationally Representative Mixed Mode Study. Field Methods, 29(3), 221–237.
Mack, S., Huggins, V., Keathley, D., Sundukchi, M., & Mack, S. (n.d.). 1998: Do monetary incentives improve response rates in the survey of income and program participation?
Maslovskaya, O., Lynn, P., Calderwood, L., Durrant, G., Fitzgerald, R., Nicolaas, G., Williams, J. (2025) Survey Futures Position Statement on Response Rates. 09 June 2025.
Mesplie-Cowan, S., Collins, D., Charman, C., (2024) ‘Survey Futures; thinking about the post pandemic role of survey interviewers’, online webinar.
Michie, S., Van Stralen, M. M., & West, R. (2011). The behaviour change wheel: A new method for characterising and designing behaviour change interventions. Implementation Science, 6(1).
Micklewright, J., Schnepf, S.V., & Skinner, C.J. (2012). Non‐response biases in surveys of schoolchildren: the case of the English Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) samples. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A (Statistics in Society), 175.
Morton-Williams, J. (1993), Interviewer Approaches, Aldershot: Dartmouth Publishing Company Limited.
Mulder, J., & De Bruijne, M. (2019). Willingness of Online Respondents to Participate in Alternative Modes of Data Collection. Survey Practice, 12(1), 1–11.
Neyman, J. (1934). On the two different aspects of the representative method: The method of stratified sampling and the method of purposive selection. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, 97, 558-606.
National Centre for Social Research. (2024a). Public Confidence in Official Statistics 2023.
National Centre for Social Research. (2024b). Damaged Politics? The impact of the 2019-24 Parliament on political trust and confidence.
Novak, A. (2014). Anonymity, Confidentiality, Privacy, and Identity: The Ties That Bind and Break in Communication Research. Review of Communication, 14(1), 36–48.
Olson, K., Kirchner, A., & Smyth, J. (2016). Do Interviewers with High Cooperation Rates Behave Differently? Interviewer Cooperation Rates and Interview Behaviors. Survey Practice, 9(2), 1–11.
ONS (unpublished) Summary report on inclusivity research, shared with research team by email.
ONS (2025) ONS Survey improvement and enhancement plan for Economic Statistics
Ormston, R, Martin, C, Rogers, L, Huskinson, T, Irvin, E, Rimmington, E and Lynn, P (2024) Mixed mode research: report to inform the Scottish Government Long-term Survey Strategy, Scottish Government.
Presser, S. and McCulloch, S. (2011). The Growth of Survey Research in the United States: Government-Sponsored Surveys, 1984–2004. Social Science Research, 40:1019–24
Putnam, R.D. (1995) Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital. Journal of Democracy, 6, 65-78. Link to article in Journal of Democracy
Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Putnam, R. (2001). Social Capital: Measurement and Consequences. Canadian Journal of Policy Research, 2, 41-51.
Putnam, R. D. (2001). Social capital: Measurement and consequences. Canadian Journal of Policy Research, 2, 41-51.
Schoeni, R. F., Stafford, F., Mcgonagle, K. A., & Andreski, P. (2013). Response Rates in National Panel Surveys. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 645(1), 60–87.
Scottish Census. (2022) Scotland’s Census 2022: Housing
Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations. (2023). Third Sector Tracker Waves one to six: Executive summary.
Scottish Government. (2018) Long-Term Survey Strategy 2018-2021.
Scottish Government. (2023) Scottish Household Survey 2022: Volunteering
Scottish Government. (2024a) Social capital and community wellbeing in Scotland. Research report.
Scottish Government. (2024b) Scottish Health Survey 2023: Volume 1 – Main report.
Scottish Government. (2025) Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2023/24: main findings
Silver, L., Keeter, S., Kramer, S., Lippert, J., Hernandez Ramones, S., Cooperman, A., Baronavski, C., Webster, B., Nadeem, R., & Chavda, J. (2025, May 8). Americans’ Trust in One Another. Pew Research Center.
Singer, Eleanor, and Mick P. Couper. 2017. Some Methodological Uses of Responses to Open Questions and Other Verbatim Comments in Quantitative Surveys. Methods, Data, Analyses 11 (2).
Singer, E., and Ye, C. (2013). The use and effects of incentives in surveys. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 645(1), 112- 141.
Singer, E., & Kulka, R. A. (n.d.). Paying Respondents for Survey Participation. 24.
Smith, T.W. (1984). Estimating Nonresponse Bias with Temporary Refusals. Sociological Perspectives, 27, 473 - 489.
Squire, P. (1988). “Why the 1936 Literary Digest Poll Failed.” Public Opinion Quarterly 52, 125133.
Steeh, C. G. (1981). Trends in Nonresponse Rates, 1952–1979. Public Opinion Quarterly 45:40–57
Stoop, I. A. L. (2005). The hunt for the last respondent. Nonresponse in sample surveys. The Hague: Sociaalen Cultureel Planbureau.
Sun, H., Conrad, F. G., & Kreuter, F. (2021). The Relationship Between Interviewer-Respondent Rapport and Data Quality. Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology, 9(3), 429–448.
Tourangeau, R., & Yan, T. (2007). Sensitive questions in surveys. Psychological Bulletin, 133(5), 859–883.
Tversky, A., and Kahnemann, D. (1974). Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases. Science, 185, 1124-1131
Volunteer Scotland (2025) The State of Scottish volunteering
Wells, B. M., Davern, M., Ihde, A., & Bautista, R. (2024, April). An examination of demographic and substantive differences between early and late respondents in a face-to-face survey. NORC.
Williams, J & Holcekova. (2015). Assessment of the impact of a lower CSEW response rate. Office for National Statistics, UK.
Xena, C. and Kaminska, O. (2025) Nonresponse in address-based surveys, Understanding Society Working Paper 2025-13, Colchester: University of Essex
Contact
Email: surveystrategy@gov.scot