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Author: Branden, Laura

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1.	Branden, Laura Gritz, R. Mark Pergamit, Michael R.
1.	Effect of Interview Length on Attrition in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth NLS Discussion Paper No. 95-28, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington DC, March 1995. Also: http://stats.bls.gov/ore/abstract/nl/nl950030.htm Cohort(s): NLS General, NLSY79 Publisher: U.S. Department of Labor Keyword(s): Attrition; Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Interviewing Method; Nonresponse; Sample Selection In this paper, we examine the effect of interview length on wave nonresponse in a longitudinal survey, controlling for respondent-specific characteristics known to affect survey response. We use the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), a sample of over 10,000 individuals who were 14-22 years old when first interviewed in 1979. These individuals have been interviewed annually every year since then, providing 16 years of data. The interviews have been conducted in person in all years except one. Unlike the CPS or SIPP, the NLSY does not allow proxy responses. The NLSY attempts to interview virtually all living respondents each year. Over the years, the length of the interview has varied. It also varies substantially across individuals in the sample within years. A transition probability model is estimated using hazard equations. Holding constant personal, demographic, and environmental factors known to influence survey response as well as several measures of respondent attitude and cooperation, we find that longer interview length is associated with sample retention. Hypothesizing that interview length may proxy for some uncontrolled dimension of respondent cooperation, an alternative measure to interview length, namely the number of questions asked, was constructed. Reestimating the hazards with this variable generates similar findings. We conjecture that survey length, whether measured in minutes or number of questions asked, measures the saliency or applicability of the survey to the respondent. Those respondents who possess the characteristics most important to the content of the survey have the longest interviews but are also the most interested. The policy prescription we propose is to design survey instruments which include sets of questions applicable to all respondents, focusing less on the average length of the interview and more on the range of potential interview lengths.
	Bibliography Citation Branden, Laura, R. Mark Gritz and Michael R. Pergamit. "Effect of Interview Length on Attrition in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth." NLS Discussion Paper No. 95-28, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington DC, March 1995.

2.	Branden, Laura Pergamit, Michael R.
2.	Response Error in Reporting Starting Wages Presented: Danvers, MA, American Association of Public Opinion Research Annual Conference, May 1994 Cohort(s): NLS General, NLSY79 Publisher: American Association of Public Opinion Research Keyword(s): Data Quality/Consistency; Human Capital; Job Tenure; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID); Wage Determination; Wages Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. Human capital models in labor economics emphasize, among other things, the returns to tenure on a job. While longitudinal data improve these measures compared with cross-sectional data, complete wage profiles for an individual in any household data set do not exist. Generally, the available data consist of a series of contemporaneous wage observations gathered at infrequent intervals, usually once each year. This is the standard in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and in the various National Longitudinal Surveys, the primary longitudinal data sets in labor economics. Since it is unlikely that we observe a person exactly when they begin their job, we must retrospectively ask their starting wage. Retrospective questions tax people's memories in different ways depending on the nature of the information to be retrieved, how it is stored in memory, the length of recall required, the saliency of the event, etc. Starting wages are expected to be perhaps the most easily recalled wages other than the current wage because the starting wage is connected with a specific event, i.e. beginning work for a given employer. Therefore, an investigation of individuals' reports of starting wages are probably the most accurate of any wage reports other than their current wage. In this paper, we use the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), taking advantage of a skip pattern error which resulted in re-asking most of the sample about the starting wage for their employer at two consecutive interviews. Because we never know the true starting wage, this paper examines the consistency in response between the two answers given at two different interviews, roughly one year apart.
	Bibliography Citation Branden, Laura and Michael R. Pergamit. "Response Error in Reporting Starting Wages." Presented: Danvers, MA, American Association of Public Opinion Research Annual Conference, May 1994.

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