The quality of paradata

Abstract

"This chapter reviews the existing literature on the quality of paradata. We consider studies presenting both direct evaluations of the quality of a variety of collected paradata, where 'gold standard' validation data are available, as well as indirect indicators of the quality, including reliability, ease of collection, and missing data issues. We first provide an overview of the available literature on computer-generated paradata and interviewer-recorded call records, muck of which has not been published in peer-reviewed journals. We complement this review with our own informal qualitative study of common errors observed in interviewer-recorded call records, as reported by field managers. Following this, the chapter focuses on the quality of interviewer observations, as most of the current research focuses on this type of paradata. The review concludes with a theoretical discussion of mechanisms that could introduce error in various types of paradata." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

West, B. & Sinibaldi, J. (2013): The quality of paradata. A literature review. In: F. Kreuter (Hrsg.) (2013): Improving surveys with paradata : analytic uses of process information, p. 339-359.