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Chapter
Linking Surveys and Administrative Data
DOI link for Linking Surveys and Administrative Data
Linking Surveys and Administrative Data book
Linking Surveys and Administrative Data
DOI link for Linking Surveys and Administrative Data
Linking Surveys and Administrative Data book
ABSTRACT
This chapter explores some basic information on the European Social Survey (ESS), outlines response-enhancing efforts, and provide an overview of different strategies to detect non-response bias. It discusses the present focus on overall response rates and suggests alternative approaches to reduce non-response bias. Para-data and other auxiliary variables are used to analyze non-response. ESS para-data also make it possible to compare survey outcomes from cooperative respondents and reluctant respondents. The maximum non-response bias decreases as the response rates go up; non-response bias depends on two factors: response rates and the differences between respondents and non-respondents. Prescribing a high target response rate in a cross-national survey has a number of advantages. Stoop, Billiet et al. presented four standard methods to estimate non-response bias and to suggest ways of adjusting for it. A small expert group in the European Social Survey is currently considering issues such as target response rates, balanced response rates, para-data, fieldwork control, and non-response bias.