Survey Research Methods Centre Update: December 2021

This collection of articles, covering some of our recent methodological work, is aimed at those involved in conducting or commissioning high quality social policy-related survey research.

In this edition we focus on some of the “COVID-proof” methods that saw us through the pandemic, presenting case studies of how surveys can be adapted to work without face-to-face data collection, and several examples of how we continue to enhance the design of our push-to-web surveys through experimental testing. We also present articles covering innovations from the UK birth cohort studies and cognitive testing with children on sensitive topics.

Transitioning existing surveys to an online methodology

• Moving the British Election Study online part way through face-to-face data
• The design of the European Company Survey as a push-to-web survey of businesses with CATI recruitment.
• Investigating the feasibility of online data collection for the Childcare and early years survey of parents.

Optimising push-to-web surveys: experimental results

• The effect of paying a larger incentive for early completion on the proportion completing online and survey quality on a general public survey
• Results of experiments to inform the transition of surveys of hospital, maternity and child patients to online from paper
• The impact of simultaneous and sequential push-to-web designs with varying contact modes on a survey of GP patients

Methodological innovations from the UK birth cohort studies and surveys of children

• Offering an online follow-up interview to convert refusals to the face-to-face age 17 Millennium Cohort Study
• Qualitative research to explore participant acceptance of novel data collection methods from the four UK birth cohort studies
• Using indirect probing to adapt cognitive interview protocols for a survey of children on highly sensitive topics