Expected yield rates are essential to a survey's data collection plan, as they inform requisite sample sizes to meet the survey's objectives. Given an overall expected yield rate for a self-administered mail survey, this short take describes a simple method for using the Census Planning Database to assign differential yield rates to lower-level…

These appendices accompany the full report, "National Household Education Surveys Program of 2019: Qualitative Study of Nonresponding Addresses. NCES 2022-043" (ED617187). The full report documents the methods and findings of a qualitative study of nonrespondent addresses to the 2019 administration of the National Household Education…

Best practices in mail survey design advise personalizing correspondence, but most research predates the use of address-based sampling (ABS) in which a householder's name either cannot be matched to an address or may be matched incorrectly. Further, recent evidence casts doubt on the effectiveness of personalization. The current study examines the…

This report documents the methods and findings of a qualitative study of nonrespondent addresses to the 2019 administration of the National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES:2019). The study included two components: (1) 85 in-depth, qualitative interviews; and (2) 760 address observations. The overarching goal was to better understand the…

We discuss methods that can improve response rates in large-scale cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Regardless of the specific study topic, sample member population, or method of contact, data collections should be designed with certain core principles in mind: legitimizing the study to prospective participants; presenting study…

Although using random digit dialing (RDD) telephone samples was the preferred method for conducting surveys of households for many years, declining response and coverage rates have led researchers to explore alternative approaches. The use of address-based sampling (ABS) has been examined for sampling the general population and subgroups, most…

Although researchers can easily select probability samples of addresses using the U.S. Postal Service's Delivery Sequence File, randomly selecting respondents within households for surveys remains challenging. Researchers often place within-household selection instructions, such as the next or last birthday methods, in survey cover letters to…

Nonformal education is learner-centered and provides knowledge in a practical manner to participants. Master Gardener is a nonformal extension horticultural program that includes extensive requirements to earn certification. The purpose of this study was to examine the Mergener Education Participation Scale (M-EPS) to evaluate adult motivations to…

The 2012 National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES:2012) Data File User's Manual provides documentation and guidance for users of the NHES:2012 data files. The manual provides information about the purpose of the study, the sample design, data collection procedures, data processing procedures, response rates, imputation, weighting and…

This research examined the issue of nonresponse bias and how it was reported in nonexperimental quantitative research published in the "Delta Pi Epsilon Journal" between 1995 and 2004. Through content analysis, 85 articles consisting of 91 separate samples were examined. In 72.5% of the cases, possible nonresponse bias was not examined in the…

Although human resource development practitioners and researchers emphasize organizational culture as a major contributor to employee learning and development, results from this study suggest organizational subculture has greater influence on employee-related learning motivation. The relationships among organizational culture, organizational…

Multiple matrix sampling (MMS) as a data collection strategy was examined, and rates of response from 307 public school principals in Virginia were compared when subgroups of items were administered versus an entire instrument. MMS was demonstrated as a viable and reasonable procedure when the mail questionnaire consists of a large number of pages…

Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) are a critical segment in prehospital medical care. This study examined EMT-paramedic career success focused on minorities and women, as part of the Longitudinal Emergency Medical Technician Attributes and Demographics Study (LEADS). The LEADS data come from a representative sampling of EMTs throughout the…

This Digest describes four types of errors in mail surveys and summarizes the ways they can be reduced. Any one of these sources of error can make survey results unacceptable. Sampling error is examined through inferential statistics applied to sample survey results. In general, increasing sample size will decrease sampling error when simple…

Monitoring the Future (MTF), now in its 35th year, has become one of the nation's most relied-upon sources of information on changes taking place in licit and illicit psychoactive drug use among American adolescents, college students, young adults, and more recently, middle-aged adults. During the last three and a half decades, the study has…