ABSTRACT
This chapter lays out critical study design considerations that survey researchers interested in comparing interviewer variance components between different groups of interviewers need to consider before undertaking such investigations. Ensuring that the groups of interviewers being compared are equally represented across geographic areas is also critical when designing studies focused on comparing interviewer variance components across the groups. Estimates of interviewer variance due to one of the experimental factors would only be based on selected areas, rather than all possible areas. Any attempted inferences about differences in interviewer variance components between groups of interviewers defined by age need to carefully qualify other differences between these groups that may be responsible for the differences in variance components observed. Many studies of interviewer variance, and especially those focused on explaining interviewer variance, assume that the between-interviewer variance component applies to all interviewers, rather than varying across interviewer groups.
