Interview Methods

Interview Methods
This section provides the following information on interview methods:
- Interview Procedures for Main Youth Survey (Current Interview Procedures and Round 1 Procedures and Instruments)
- Content of the Main Youth Survey Questionnaire
- Parent-provided Data (Parent Questionnaire and Household Income Update)
- Fielding Periods
- Respondent Incentives
- Special Survey Collections
Interview Procedures for Main Youth Survey
Many users may be most interested in current (through round 17) interview procedures; round 1 procedures (which involved many steps not needed in subsequent rounds) are also provided here as background information.
Current Interview Procedures (Rounds 2 through Present)
The interviews are conducted each round using a CAPI (computer-assisted personal interview) instrument, administered by an interviewer with a laptop computer. Computer software automatically guides interviewers through an electronic questionnaire, selecting the next question based on a respondent's answers. The program also prevents interviewers from entering invalid values and warns interviewers about implausible answers. A set of checks within the CAPI system lowers the probability of inconsistent data both during an interview and over time. The preferred mode of interview is in person. When an interview is conducted in person, during sensitive portions of the interview, the respondents enter their answers directly into the laptop rather than interacting with the interviewer. This self-administered portion, called ACASI, includes an audio option so that the respondents can listen to the questions and answers being read via headphones if they prefer. The audio component theoretically improves response quality when the respondent's literacy is in question. In some cases, due to the location of the respondent or the respondents' reluctance to be interviewed in person, interviews are conducted by phone. In this case the interviewer must administer the SAQ sections. Table 1 shows the number of in-person and telephone interviews for each round.
Table 1. NLSY97 Interview Mode
Year | Personal Interviews (number and percentage) | Telephone Interviews (number and percentage) | Info Unavailable | Total Interviewed | Not interviewed |
|||||
Rnd 1 | 8700 | 96.8% | 284 | 3.2% | 0 | -- | 8984 | -- | -- | -- |
Rnd 2 | 7924 | 94.5 | 460 | 5.5 | 2 | a | 8386 | 93.3% | 598 | 6.7% |
Rnd 3 | 7552 | 92.0 | 655 | 8.0 | 1 | a | 8208 | 91.4 | 776 | 8.6 |
Rnd 4 | 7372 | 91.2 | 706 | 8.7 | 2 | a | 8080 | 89.9 | 904 | 10.1 |
Rnd 5 | 7215 | 91.5 | 664 | 8.4 | 2 | a | 7882 | 87.7 | 1102 | 12.3 |
Rnd 6 | 6614 | 83.8 | 1281 | 16.2 | 1 | -- | 7896 | 87.9 | 1088 | 12.1 |
Rnd 7 | 6825 | 88.0 | 927 | 12.0 | 2 | a | 7754 | 86.3 | 1230 | 13.7 |
Rnd 8 | 6577 | 87.7 | 925 | 12.3 | 2 | a | 7502 | 83.5 | 1482 | 16.5 |
Rnd 9 | 6348 | 86.5 | 989 | 13.5 | 1 | a | 7338 | 81.7 | 1646 | 18.3 |
Rnd 10 | 6663 | 88.2 | 894 | 11.8 | 2 | a | 7559 | 84.1 | 1425 | 15.9 |
Rnd 11 | 6484 | 87.4 | 932 | 12.6 | 2 | a | 7418 | 82.6 | 1566 | 17.4 |
Rnd 12 | 6417 | 85.7 | 1072 | 14.3 | 1 | a | 7490 | 83.4 | 1494 | 16.6 |
Rnd 13 | 6494 | 85.9 | 1064 | 14.1 | 1 | a | 7559 | 84.1 | 1425 | 15.9 |
Rnd 14 | 6648 | 88.9 | 826 | 11.0 | 4 | a | 7479 | 83.2 | 1505 | 16.8 |
Rnd 15 | 6527 | 87.9 | 895 | 12.1 | 1 | a | 7423 | 82.6 | 1561 | 17.4 |
Rnd 16 | 6012 | 84.2 | 1128 | 15.8 | 1 | a | 7141 | 79.5 | 1843 | 20.5 |
Rnd 17 | 5208 | 73.3 | 1894 | 26.7 | 1 | a | 7103 | 79.0 | 1881 | 21.0 |
NOTE: Table created using the variable YIR-560. Telephone was mode of interview for 223 round 1 parent interviews. | ||||||||||
aLess than 0.05%. |
Round 1 Procedures and Instruments
Screener, Household Roster, and Nonresident Roster Questionnaire: This instrument was initially administered to a member of each household selected for sampling in the NLSY97 survey areas. It was completed by a household resident age 18 or older, referred to as the household informant. This questionnaire was used to identify youths potentially eligible for the NLSY97 survey and/or the administration of the computer adaptive version of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (CAT-ASVAB), a military enlistment test (see Administration of the CAT-ASVAB for more information). In general, eligibility for either group was dependent on the youth's age and, in some sample areas, on the youth's race or ethnicity. Sample Design & Screening Process provides more detailed information about the precise age and race/ethnicity requirements. This instrument comprised four sections: the simple screener, extended screener, household roster, and nonresident roster, administered in that order and described below. Question names for the simple and extended screeners begin with "SE," household roster questions begin with "SH," and nonresident roster questions begin with "SN."
The simple screener section was first administered at each household in the sample areas to identify potentially eligible sample members. The simple screener collected the name and birth date or age of each person who could be linked to the household (see Sample Design & Screening Process for more information). If the household contained a youth potentially eligible for the NLSY97 or the administration of the CAT-ASVAB, the household informant completed the extended screener. This section collected the gender and race/ethnicity of each person in the household and the year in school the potentially eligible youth was currently attending, if any. Race and ethnicity were used in supplemental sample areas as further criteria for NLSY97 eligibility; in certain cases, grade in school affected eligibility for the administration of the CAT-ASVAB. If the household contained a youth eligible only for the administration of the CAT-ASVAB, the interviewer solicited his or her participation. If the household included one or more youths potentially eligible for the NLSY97, the interview continued with an extensive two-part roster.
The household informant first answered the questions in the household roster section of the Screener, Household Roster, and Nonresident Roster Questionnaire. This section established the relationships between household occupants and collected basic demographic information (e.g., marital status, highest grade of schooling completed, employment status) for all household members, including any NLSY97-eligible youths. After the roster was created, one parent of the sample youth was chosen from the list of household occupants and asked to participate in the Parent Questionnaire. Finally, the household informant was administered the nonresident roster section, which gathered data on members of the youth's immediate family (e.g., biological, adoptive, or stepparents; biological or adoptive siblings; spouse; biological children; parent of the youth's biological children) who lived elsewhere at the survey date.
Choice of household informant: To identify youths potentially eligible for the NLSY97, the screener collected data from selected households within a sample area. A single member of the household, designated as the household informant, was asked to provide certain information on persons who usually resided in the household. To ensure more accurate reporting of these data, the NLSY97 required the household informant to be age 18 or older and to consider the selected household his or her usual place of residence.
Bilingual interviewing: To ensure that accurate data were collected from Spanish-speaking respondents, CHRR prepared both English and Spanish versions of all survey instruments, and NORC employed bilingual Spanish-speaking interviewers to administer the Spanish version to those requesting it. During the initial round, the Spanish version of the questionnaire was requested by 297 responding parents and 96 NLSY97 youths.
Screen and Go: In round 1, use of the computer-assisted personal interviewing system (CAPI) allowed for a screen and go method of screening households. When an NLSY97-eligible youth was identified in the simple screener portion of the interview, information from the remainder of the Screener, Household Roster, and Nonresident Roster Questionnaire was collected. Selected data (e.g., basic demographic information, a roster of household members) were then transferred automatically into the Parent and Youth Questionnaires for verification and use during the interview. Therefore, the interviewer could administer the parent or the youth portion of the NLSY97 immediately. It was expected that this would increase the likelihood that eligible youths would participate in the survey since the number of visits interviewers had to make to a household decreased.
However, in some cases, the respondents (parent and youth) were not available to participate in the parent and youth interviews immediately after screening. In these cases, a screen and come back method was utilized, in which the interviewer made an appointment to return to the household to administer the Youth and Parent Questionnaires at a convenient time.
Paper Screener: During round 1, the interviewers had the option of using a paper screener to perform the initial screening of the household. The paper screener collected the same basic information as the initial CAPI screener. This was useful in cases where the simple screener information could not be collected using CAPI (e.g., weather conditions, computer battery life, dangerous neighborhood) and also gave the interviewer an alternative medium for collecting the initial screener data. Like the screen and go model, the paper screener was designed to determine if anyone residing in the housing unit was eligible for either the NLSY97 or the administration of the CAT-ASVAB. If a youth was identified as being potentially eligible for the NLSY97, the information from the paper screener was entered into CAPI. The interviewer could then continue in CAPI with the Screener, Household Roster, and Nonresident Roster Questionnaire and the Youth and Parent Questionnaires. Approximately 28,000 paper screeners were administered, including those used for the screen and come back method described above.
Proxy Screener: In cases where a round 1 interviewer made several visits to a household and still could not contact household members to administer the initial screener, a proxy screener was administered to an adult living either next door to or directly across from the selected housing unit. Before the interviewer could administer a proxy screener, at least three attempts were made by the interviewer, on different days and at different times, to contact anyone in the selected housing unit.
The purpose of the proxy screener, a paper questionnaire, was to assess whether a person eligible for the NLSY97 resided in the household. In particular, the proxy screener was designed to determine the best time to establish contact with a household member, whether or not a person between the ages of 8 and 28 currently lived in the household, and the steps required to contact a household member. The broad 8-28 age range was intended to ensure that youths close to the endpoints of the actual age range were not missed due to inaccurate reporting. If the proxy screener indicated that none of the household members were in the age range of 8 to 28, the screener was coded as a proxy screener and no more attempts were made to contact the household. However, if the proxy informant was unable to definitively deny the presence of residents ages 8-28, the interviewer was instructed to return as many times as reasonable and necessary to administer the simple screener and, if appropriate, the remainder of the survey instruments. A total of 5,175 proxy screeners determined that no one between ages 8 and 28 lived in the household.
Gatekeepers: The gatekeeper disposition code was used in cases where the interviewer could not gain direct access to the sample household, such as a high-rise building with a locked door where access was denied by a building manager or a gated housing community where the entry guard refused entrance. In these cases, the interviewer asked the gatekeeper or other community official whether anyone between the ages of 8 and 28 lived in the sample households. If the gatekeeper was unable to definitively deny the presence of household members ages 8-28, the interviewer then attempted to gain access to the household in order to complete the Screener, Household Roster, and Nonresident Roster Questionnaire and was not permitted to use this disposition code. A total of 4,055 cases were closed with a gatekeeper disposition code after the interviewer determined that no one between ages 8 and 28 lived in the household. This code was mainly used in gated housing communities for senior citizens.
Telephone Screener: In rare cases, the simple screener was conducted by telephone at the conclusion of the field period. A total of 931 telephone screeners were administered. Instances in which the housing unit was contacted by telephone include:
- The proxy screener revealed a person between the ages of 8 and 28 living in the household and the interviewer was unable to contact anyone in the housing unit on three subsequent in-person visits; or
- The interviewer made three in-person visits but was unable to find a neighbor to whom he or she could administer the proxy screener.
The full Screener, Household Roster, and Nonresident Roster Questionnaire was also administered by telephone in rare instances. Situations in which the full instrument was conducted by telephone include:
- After completing the paper screener, the interviewer was unable to contact anyone in the housing unit to complete the full extended screener. At least three in-person contacts must have been attempted before the telephone contact was approved.
- The sample housing unit was inside a residential community to which the interviewer was barred access by the community (e.g., housing board authority). Prior to the telephone interview, the correct person must have been contacted about gaining access at least three times (in person, by telephone, or by letter).
Youth Questionnaire and Parent Questionnaire: When the Screener, Household Roster, and Nonresident Roster Questionnaire was complete, any NLSY97-eligible youth(s) and one of the youth's parents (the responding parent) were interviewed using CAPI (See Parent Questionnaire section for more information on parent data). Prior to these interviews, selected data (e.g., basic demographic information, a roster of household members) were automatically transferred into the Parent Questionnaire and the Youth Questionnaire for verification and use during the interviews. Consequently, the interviewer was able to administer the parent or the youth portion of the NLSY97 immediately. CAPI interviews were conducted in either English or Spanish; parent and youth respondents could choose either version.
In round 1, the NLSY97 youth respondent(s) and responding parent(s) in the household are listed on the household roster, but they are referred to as "Household Member #" in the same way as noninterviewed household members. The youth respondent's position on the household roster can be identified by using the variable YOUTH_HHID.01. The responding parent's position on the roster is provided in PARYOUTH_PARENTID. See Household Composition for further discussion of the structure and use of the household roster.
Cohorts
- NLSY97
- Topical Guide to the Data
- Asterisk Tables
- I. Employment, Unemployment, and Job Search (age restrictions as of interview date)
- II. Schooling (age restrictions as of 12/31/96)
- III. Training (age restrictions as of interview date)
- IV. Income, Assets, and Program Participation
- V. Family Formation (age restrictions as of end of previous calendar year--12/31/96 in rd 1, 12/31/97 in rd 2, and so on)
- VI. Family Background (age restrictions as of 12/31/1996)
- VII. Expectations
- VIII. Attitudes, Behaviors, and Time Use
- IX. Health (age restrictions as of 12/31/96)
- X. Political Participation
- XI. Environmental Variables (in main data set)
- Education
- Employment
- Household, Geography & Contextual Variables
- Family Background
- Marital History, Childcare & Fertility
- Income
- Health
- Attitudes
- Crime & Substance Use
- Asterisk Tables
- Intro to the Sample
- Using & Understanding the Data
- Other Documentation
- Get Data
- Topical Guide to the Data
- NLSY79
- Topical Guide to the Data
- Asterisk Tables
- Education
- Employment
- Employment: An Introduction
- Work Experience
- Jobs & Employers
- Class of Worker
- Discrimination
- Fringe Benefits
- Industries
- Job Characteristics Index
- Job Satisfaction
- Job Search
- Labor Force Status
- Military
- Occupations
- Time & Tenure with Employers
- Wages
- Work History Data
- Employer History Roster
- Business Ownership
- Retirement
- Household, Geography & Contextual Variables
- Family Background
- Marital History, Childcare & Fertility
- Income
- Health
- Attitudes
- Crime & Substance Use
- Intro to the Sample
- Using & Understanding the Data
- Other Documentation
- Codebook Supplement
- NLSY79 Attachment 3: Industrial and Occupational Classification Codes
- NLSY79 Attachment 4: Fields of Study in College
- NLSY79 Attachment 5: Index of Labor Unions and Employee Associations
- NLSY79 Attachment 6: Other Kinds of Training Codes
- NLSY79 Attachment 7: Other Certificate Codes
- NLSY79 Attachment 8: Health Codes
- NLSY79 Attachment 100: Geographic Regions
- NLSY79 Attachment 101: Country Codes
- NLSY79 Attachment 102: Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS)
- NLSY79 Attachment 103: Religion Codes
- NLSY79 Attachment 106: Profiles of American Youth (ASVAB Data/AFQT Scores)
- NLSY79 Appendix 1: Employment Status Recode Variables (1979-1998 and 2006)
- NLSY79 Appendix 2: Total Net Family Income Variable Creation (1979-2014)
- NLSY79 Appendix 3: Job Satisfaction Measures
- NLSY79 Appendix 4: Job Characteristics Index 1979-1982
- NLSY79 Appendix 5: Supplemental Fertility and Relationship Variables
- NLSY79 Appendix 6: Urban-Rural and SMSA-Central City Variables
- NLSY79 Appendix 7: Unemployment Rate
- NLSY79 Appendix 8: Highest Grade Completed & Enrollment Status Variable Creation
- NLSY79 Appendix 9: Linking Employers Through Survey Years
- NLSY79 Appendix 11: Round 12 (1990) Survey Administration Methods
- NLSY79 Appendix 12: Most Important Job Learning Activities (1993-94)
- NLSY79 Appendix 13: Intro to CAPI Questionnaires and Codebooks
- NLSY79 Appendix 14: Instrument Rosters
- NLSY79 Appendix 15: Recipiency Event Histories
- NLSY79 Appendix 16: 1994 Recall Experiment
- NLSY79 Appendix 17: Interviewer Characteristics Data
- NLSY79 Appendix 18: Work History Data
- NLSY79 Appendix 19: SF-12 Health Scale Scoring
- NLSY79 Appendix 20: Round 20 (2002) Early Bird and Income Recall Experiments
- NLSY79 Appendix 21: Attitudinal Scales
- NLSY79 Appendix 22: Migration Distance Variables for Respondent Locations
- NLSY79 Appendix 23: Revised Asset and Debt Variables and Computed Net Worth Variables
- NLSY79 Appendix 24: Reanalysis of the 1980 AFQT Data from the NLSY79
- NLSY79 Appendix 25: Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale
- NLSY79 Appendix 26: Non-Response to Financial Questions and Entry Points
- NLSY79 Appendix 27: IRT Item Parameter Estimates, Scores and Standard Errors
- NLSY79 Appendix 28: NLSY79 Employer History Roster
- Geocode Codebook Supplement
- Appendix 7: Unemployment Rates
- Appendix 10: Geocode Documentation
- Attachment 100: Geographic Regions
- Attachment 101: Country Codes
- Attachment 102: State FIPS Codes
- Attachment 104, Part A: 1981 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAs)
- Attachment 104, Part B: 1983 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs)
- Attachment 104, Part C: 1983 Consolidated MSAs and Associated Primary MSAs (CMSAs and PMSAs)
- Attachment 104, Part D: 1983 PMSAs and Associated CMSAs
- Attachment 104, Part E: 1988 MSAs, CMSAs, and Associated PMSAs
- Attachment 104, Part F: 2004 MSAs, CMSAs, and Associated PMSAs
- Attachment 104, Part G: 2006 Core-Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs)
- Attachment 105: Addendum to FICE Codes
- Attachment 106: Codebook Pages for Geocode and Zipcode Variables
- Questionnaires
- Tutorials
- Errata
- Technical Sampling Report
- School & Transcript Surveys Documentation
- Codebook Supplement
- Get Data
- Topical Guide to the Data
- NLSY79 Child/YA
- Topical Guide to the Data
- Intro to the Sample
- Using & Understanding the Data
- Other Documentation
- Codebook Supplement
- Appendix A: HOME-SF Scales (NLSY79 Child)
- Appendix B: Composition of the Temperament Scales (NLSY79 Child)
- Appendix C: Motor & Social Development (NLSY79 Child)
- Appendix D: Behavior Problems Index (NLSY79 Child)
- Appendix D, Part 1: Composition of the BPI subscales
- Appendix D, Part 2a: BPI Anxious/Depressed Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 2b: BPI Antisocial Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 2c: BPI Dependent Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 2d: BPI Headstrong Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 2e: BPI Hyperactive Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 2f: BPI Peer Conflicts/Withdrawn Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 2g: BPI Full Scale
- Appendix D, Part 3a: BPI Internalizing Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 3b: BPI Externalizing Subscale
- Appendix D, Part 3c: BPI Total Scores
- Appendix E: Sample SPSSx Program for Merging NLSY79 Child/YA & Mother Files
- Appendix F: Sample SAS Program for Merging NLSY79 Child/YA & Mother Files
- Appendix G: NLSY79 Child Assessment Scores, Reference Numbers (2010-2014)
- Appendix H: Identification Codes in the Child and Young Adult Database
- Attachment 100: Codebook Pages for Young Adult Geocode Data
- Questionnaires
- Errata
- Errata for 2014 Child/Young Adult Release
- Data Addition: New Work and School Status Variables Created
- Errata for 2012 Child/Young Adult Release
- Errata for 2010 Child/Young Adult Release
- Errata for 2008 Child/Young Adult Release
- Errata for 2006 Child/Young Adult Release
- Errata for 2004 Child/Young Adult Release
- Errata for 2002 Child/Young Adult Release
- Errata for 2000 Child/Young Adult Release
- Errata for NLSY79 Child Interview Dates 1986-1992
- Research/Technical Reports
- Codebook Supplement
- Get Data
- NLS Mature and Young Women
- NLS Older and Young Men