Table Of ContentThe Impact of Personality on
Participation Decisions in Surveys
Denise Saßenroth
The Impact of Personality
on Participation Decisions
in Surveys
A Contribution to the Discussion on
Unit Nonresponse
Denise Saßenroth
Berlin, Germany
Dissertation Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Germany, 2012
ISBN 978-3-658-01780-4 ISBN 978-3-658-01781-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-658-01781-1
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Acknowledgements
The events that turned my initial idea into this thesis involve a multitude of indi-
viduals. First, I must thank Bernhard Kittel, who provided me with the institu-
tional frame necessary for writing this thesis and who gave me a lot of scope for
development. I also thank Peter Lynn who showed interest in the topic and en-
couraged me to work on it. I received a lot of helpful comments not only from
Peter Lynn and Bernhard Kittel, but also from Achim Koch, Michael Blohm and
Gert G. Wagner. Thank you very much for the inspiring new impulses. More-
over, I must thank Michael Blohm for providing me with additional data that
enriched my analysis. Many thanks are also owed to Annette Scherpenzeel for
the access to paradata of the LISS panel. A crucial part of my analysis would not
have been possible without these special data. I would also like to thank partici-
pants of the Household Survey Nonresponse Workshops for all the fruitful com-
ments that I received during my presentations. I particularly thank Ineke Stoop
for inviting me to the Nonresponse Workshop that opened up many new dimen-
sions for me.
In addition to all of this professional support, I must thank many people for
their understanding, patience and encouragement. In particular, I thank my par-
ents Alice and Heinz for their tolerance and support, as well as for letting me go
my way. My brother, Dustin, is my counter-balance and I thank him for being
there when I needed him. I also thank Bea and Jenny for not getting tired of
providing words of comfort when needed. I thank Udo and Elfi for their encour-
agement. Certainly, I wholehearted thank Nico for the reading and discussions
that we shared, for his interest in my work, his belief in me, his appreciation, his
humour and assuredness. I could not have managed this without him.
Denise Saßenroth
5
Contents
List of Tables ...................................................................................................... 11
List of Figures ..................................................................................................... 13
List of Abbreviations .......................................................................................... 15
1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 17
2 Survey Nonresponse ................................................................................. 23
2.1 International Trends in Response Rates .............................................. 25
2.2 Consequences of Nonresponse on Data Quality ................................. 26
2.3 Research Designs for the Assessment of Nonresponse Bias ............... 29
2.3.1 Comparison of Response Rates across Subgroups ..................... 30
2.3.2 Comparison of Aggregate Level Estimates from Survey Data
with Estimates from External Sources ....................................... 30
2.3.3 Enrichment of Survey Data by Record Data .............................. 31
2.3.4 Collection of Core Information on Nonrespondents .................. 31
2.3.5 Comparison of Subgroups with Different Response
Propensities ................................................................................ 33
2.4 The Conceptual Framework for Survey Cooperation by Groves
and Couper .......................................................................................... 37
2.4.1 Influences under Researchers’ Control ...................................... 38
2.4.2 Influences out of Researchers’ Control ...................................... 43
2.4.3 Householder-Interviewer Interaction ......................................... 46
2.5 Theories on Nonresponse .................................................................... 47
2.5.1 Opportunity Cost Hypothesis ..................................................... 49
2.5.2 Leverage-Saliency Theory ......................................................... 54
2.5.3 Social Exchange Theory ............................................................ 57
2.5.4 Social Isolation Hypothesis ........................................................ 60
2.6 Summary ............................................................................................. 61
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3 Sample Persons’ Personality and Survey Refusals ................................ 65
3.1 The Big 5 Personality Traits ............................................................... 65
3.2 The Explanatory Power of Personality Traits in the
Social Sciences .................................................................................... 68
3.3 A Modification of the Social Isolation Hypothesis ............................. 72
3.4 The Impact of Personality Traits on Loneliness .................................. 75
3.5 Explanations in the Social Sciences .................................................... 78
3.6 The Macro-Micro-Macro Model ......................................................... 82
3.7 The Impact of Loneliness on Survey Participation ............................. 85
3.8 The Impact of Personality Traits on Survey Participation .................. 88
3.9 Summary ............................................................................................. 89
4 Personality Effects on Participation in the GGSS (ALLBUS) .............. 93
4.1 The German General Social Survey in 2004, 2006 and 2008 ............. 94
4.2 The Willingness to Participate: Assessment by Interviewers .............. 95
4.3 The Willingness to Participate: Temporary Refusals .......................... 96
4.4 Independent Variables ......................................................................... 97
4.4.1 Respondents’ Personality Traits ................................................. 98
4.4.2 Respondents’ Socio-Demographic Characteristics .................... 98
4.4.3 Interviewers’ Characteristics ...................................................... 99
4.5 Statistical Approach .......................................................................... 100
4.6 Descriptive and Bivariate Relationships ........................................... 101
4.7 Analysis of Participation Willingness Indicated by
Interviewers’ Assessments ................................................................ 104
4.7.1 Model Building ........................................................................ 104
4.7.2 Results ...................................................................................... 106
4.7.3 Interpretation of the Model Fit ................................................. 115
4.8 Analysis of Participation Willingness Indicated by Temporary
Refusals ............................................................................................. 120
4.8.1 Model Building ........................................................................ 120
4.8.2 Interpretation of Results ........................................................... 122
4.9 Summary ........................................................................................... 126
5 Personality Effects on Participation in the LISS Panel ....................... 129
5.1 The Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social Sciences Panel ...... 130
5.2 Panel Duration and Panel Drop-Outs ................................................ 131
5.3 Independent/Exogenous Variables .................................................... 133
5.3.1 Panel Members’ Personality Characteristics ............................ 134
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5.3.2 Panel Members’ Socio-Demographic Characteristics .............. 136
5.4 Statistical Approach .......................................................................... 137
5.5 Descriptive, Bivariate and Preliminary Multivariate Analysis .......... 139
5.5.1 Relationship between Participation, Personality Traits
and Loneliness .......................................................................... 139
5.5.2 Stability of Personality Traits ................................................... 141
5.5.3 Bivariate Relationships between Indicators of Loneliness ....... 144
5.6 Survival Analysis .............................................................................. 145
5.7 Path Analysis .................................................................................... 151
5.7.1 Model Trimming ...................................................................... 151
5.7.2 Direct Effects ........................................................................... 154
5.7.3 Indirect Effects ......................................................................... 156
5.8 Summary ........................................................................................... 158
6 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 161
References ........................................................................................................ 167
Appendix .......................................................................................................... 183
9
List of Tables
Table 2.1 Overview of Explanatory Approaches to Nonresponse............... 62
Table 4.1 Willingness to Participate in the GGSS, by Year ........................ 96
Table 4.2 Frequency of Refusals after the First Phase of Fieldwork,
by Year ........................................................................................ 97
Table 4.3 Bivariate Associations between Personality Traits and
Participation Willingness .......................................................... 101
Table 4.4 Bivariate Associations between Personality Traits and
Temporary Refusals .................................................................. 102
Table 4.5 Bivariate Associations between Participation Willingness
and Temporary Refusals ............................................................ 102
Table 4.6 Associations between Personality Traits and Contact
with Family Members and Friends ............................................ 103
Table 4.7 Predicted Probabilities of High Willingness per Year,
in Percent ................................................................................... 104
Table 4.8 Regression Estimates for Participation in the GGSS 2004 ........ 107
Table 4.9 Regression Estimates for Participation in the GGSS 2006 ........ 108
Table 4.10 Regression Estimates for Participation in the GGSS 2008 ........ 109
Table 4.11 Changes in Predicted Probabilities by Personality Traits,
in Percent ................................................................................... 110
Table 4.12 Changes in Predicted Probabilities by Personality Traits,
Conditional on Covariates in the GGSS 2004, in Percent ......... 111
Table 4.13 Changes in Predicted Probabilities by Personality Traits,
Conditional on Covariates in the GGSS 2006, in Percent ......... 112
Table 4.14 Changes in Predicted Probabilities by Personality Traits,
Conditional on Covariates in the GGSS 2008, in Percent ......... 113
Table 4.15 Determinants of Participation in the GGSS 2004, 2006
and 2008 .................................................................................... 114
Table 4.16 Model Fit Comparisons of Logistic Regression Estimates
on Eager Responding: Socio-Demographic Characteristics ...... 121
Table 4.17 Model Fit Comparisons of Logistic Regression Estimates
on Eager Responding: Personality Traits .................................. 122
Table 4.18 Determinants of Eager Responding in the Combined
GGSS Dataset 2004, 2006, and 2008 ........................................ 125
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Table 4.19 Effects of Personality Traits on Eager Responding ................... 126
Table 5.1 Regression Estimates for Panel Duration in the LISS Panel ..... 140
Table 5.2 Mean Score Comparisons of Personality Characteristics .......... 140
Table 5.3 Regression Estimates for Loneliness ......................................... 141
Table 5.4 Test-Retest-Reliability of Personality Traits ............................. 142
Table 5.5 Cross-Sectional Mean Level Consistency: T-Tests for
Independent Samples................................................................. 142
Table 5.6 Longitudinal Mean Level Consistency: T-Test for
Dependent Samples ................................................................... 143
Table 5.7 Extended Cox Regression Models of Panel Drop-Outs ............ 150
Table 5.8 Path Model on Panel Drop-Out and Panel Duration ................. 153
Table 5.9 Decomposition of Indirect Effects ............................................ 157
Table A4.1 Definition of Variables in the GGSS ........................................ 183
Table A4.2 Descriptive Statistics for the GGSS 2004 ................................. 184
Table A4.3 Descriptive Statistics for the GGSS 2006 ................................. 185
Table A4.4 Descriptive Statistics for the GGSS 2008 ................................. 186
Table A4.5 Descriptive Statistics for the Combined Dataset of the
GGSS 2004, 2006 and 2008 ...................................................... 187
Table A5.1 Definition of Variables in the LISS Panel ................................ 188
Table A5.2 Descriptive Statistics for the LISS Panel (Survival Analysis) ... 190
Table A5.3 Test of Proportional-Hazards Assumption ................................ 191
Table A5.4 Descriptive Statistics for the LISS Panel (Path Analysis) ......... 192
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