Abstract
Response rates have declined steadily and substantially over the past 25 years. Despite these declines, high-quality surveys remain among the most reliable sources of data about the public. This reliability is largely due to the fact that, in general, nonresponse rates do not seem to be strongly associated with nonresponse bias. However, there may be differential rates of nonresponse bias for individual measures at any given level of nonresponse. This chapter overviews the connection between nonresponse rates and nonresponse bias and suggests a variety of areas for high-impact research in this space that will help shape how the field of survey research approaches the risk of nonresponse bias in new and important ways.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References and Further Reading
Groves, R. M., & Peytcheva, E. (2008). The Impact of Nonresponse Rates on Nonresponse Bias: A Meta-Analysis. Public Opinion Quarterly, 72(2), 167–189. http://doi.org/10.2307/25167621?ref=search-gateway:e66a229203abccca25b1fead2553bc60
Groves, R. M., Couper, M. P., Presser, S., Singer, E., Tourangeau, R., Acosta, G. P., & Nelson, L. (2006). Experiments in Producing Nonresponse Bias. Public Opinion Quarterly, 70(5), 720–736. http://doi.org/10.2307/4124223?ref=search-gateway:1b71a1db2d93b4619290899f7ac87955
Keeter, S., Kennedy, C., Dimock, M., Best, J., & Craighill, P. (2006). Gauging the Impact of Growing Nonresponse on Estimates from a National RDD Telephone Survey. Public Opinion Quarterly, 70(5), 759–779. http://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfl035
Keeter, S., Miller, C., Kohut, A., Groves, R. M., & Presser, S. (2000). Consequences of Reducing Nonresponse in a National Telephone Survey. Public Opinion Quarterly, 64(2), 125–148. http://doi.org/10.1086/317759
Kohut, A., Keeter, S., Doherty, C., & Dimock, M. (2012). Assessing the representativeness of public opinion surveys.
Peytchev, A. (2013). Consequences of Survey Nonresponse. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 645(1), 88–111. http://doi.org/10.1177/0002716212461748
Wagner, J. (2012). A Comparison of Alternative Indicators for the Risk of Nonresponse Bias. Public Opinion Quarterly, 76(3), 555–575. http://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfs032
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Keeter, S. (2018). Evidence About the Accuracy of Surveys in the Face of Declining Response Rates. In: Vannette, D., Krosnick, J. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Survey Research . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54395-6_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54395-6_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-54394-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-54395-6
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)