McGonagle Katherine, Couper Mick, Schoeni Robert F
Institute for Social Research, Survey Research Center, University of Michigan, PO Box 1248, Ann Arbor, MI 48106, U.S.A.
J Off Stat. 2011;27(2):319-338.
The Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) is a nationally representative longitudinal survey of approximately 9,000 families and their descendants that has been ongoing since 1968. Since 1969, families have been sent a mailing asking them to update or verify their contact information to keep track of their whereabouts between waves. Having updated contact information prior to data collection is associated with fewer call attempts and refusal conversion efforts, less tracking, and lower attrition. Given these apparent advantages, a study was designed in advance of the 2009 PSID field effort to improve the response rate of the contact update mailing. Families were randomly assigned to the following conditions: mailing design (traditional versus new), $10 as a prepaid versus postpaid incentive, timing and frequency of the mailing (July 2008 versus October 2008 versus both times) and whether or not they were sent a study newsletter. This paper reports on findings with regards to response rates to the mailing and the effect on production outcomes including tracking rates and number of calls during 2009 by these different conditions, examines whether the treatment effects differ by key characteristics of panel members including likelihood of moving and anticipated difficulty in completing an interview, and provides some recommendations for the use of contact update strategies in panel studies.
收入动态跟踪调查（PSID）是一项具有全国代表性的纵向调查，自1968年以来一直在对约9000个家庭及其后代进行跟踪。自1969年起，会向这些家庭发送邮件，要求他们更新或核实联系方式，以便在各轮调查期间掌握其行踪。在数据收集之前更新联系方式，与减少电话拨打次数、降低拒绝回访转化率、减少跟踪以及降低样本流失率相关。鉴于这些明显的优势，在2009年PSID实地调查之前设计了一项研究，以提高联系方式更新邮件的回复率。家庭被随机分配到以下几种情况：邮件设计（传统邮件与新邮件）、10美元的预付费与后付费激励措施、邮件发送时间和频率（2008年7月与2008年10月与两次都发送）以及是否向他们发送研究通讯。本文报告了关于邮件回复率以及这些不同情况对2009年期间包括跟踪率和拨打次数在内的调查结果的影响，研究了处理效果是否因小组成员的关键特征（包括搬家可能性和预计完成访谈的难度）而有所不同，并为在小组研究中使用联系方式更新策略提供了一些建议。
