Interview Methods

Interview Methods

Respondent Incentives

Unless otherwise mentioned, these incentive amounts refer to amount received for participation in the Youth Questionnaire, the main component of the NLSY97.

Rounds 1-3: Respondents received $10 for their participation in rounds 1-3 of the Youth Questionnaire. Responding parents received $10 when they completed the Parent Questionnaire.

Round 4: Survey administrators offered different levels of incentives to respondents in an effort to study the effects of incentive level on survey participation. Three levels of compensation were offered: $10, $15, and $20. In addition, half of the respondents at each level were paid in advance and half were paid upon completion of the interview. Both the level and the timing of the compensation are included in the variable PAYINCENT, found in the round 4 data.  

Rounds 5 and 6: All respondents received $20.

Round 7: Respondents who had not completed the Round 6 interview were eligible for an incentive experiment (R7_INCENTIVE), where respondents in the experimental group were offered an additional $5 for each consecutive round in which they had not participated (up to a maximum of an additional $15), while respondents in the control group were offered the standard $20 incentive.

Rounds 8 and up: Various incentive experiments have taken place. Users should use the Rx_INCENTIVE variables to determine the exact amount given to each respondent. Additionally, in round 10 questions were added about whether the respondent received a gift card or other in-kind payments in addition to the regular respondent payment.