Survey Methodology #2006-02 - Use Of Dependent Interviewing Procedures To Improve Data Quality In The Measurement Of Change - U.s. Census Bureau Page 4
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25evidence of increasing seam bias with an increase in the interval between the interview date and
the to-be-recalled change (see, for example, Kalton and Miller, 1991), and with increasing task
difficulty in general (e.g., Sala and Lynn, 2004).
Along with a better appreciation of the pervasiveness of seam bias, and a better understanding of
its underlying nature, came increased calls for possible remedies, among which DI procedures
were often mentioned.(e.g., Corti and Campanelli, 1992; Kalton and Miller, 1991). Excellent
summaries of the pros and cons of DI can be found in Holmberg (2004), Murray et al. (1991), and
especially Mathiowetz and McGonagle (2000). For those concerned about seam bias, however,
and the more general problem of accurate measurement of transitions, the need to control
spurious change made DI very attractive. This has been especially true with regard to the
measurement of employment-related phenomena. After tests of DI in the Current Population
Survey (CPS, the official source of labor force data in the U.S.) showed great promise (e.g.,
Cantor and Levin, 1991), DI was introduced permanently into CPS procedures in the early
1990’s, and has greatly reduced the overestimate of between-interview change in various labor
force characteristics (Polivka and Rothgeb, 1993). Hill (1994), in a comparison of successive
SIPP panels, one of which did not use DI for employment-related questions, the other of which
did, reports similar results. Use of DI in Statistics Canada’s Labour Market Activity Survey, and
later its Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics, has virtually eliminated seam bias for
employment characteristics, according to Brown, Hale, and Michaud (1998), Cotton and Giles
(1998), and LeMaitre (1992). More recently, in Great Britain, Lynn and colleagues have
experimented with different forms of DI in labor force and other surveys; they find somewhat
inconsistent effects in different circumstances for “proactive” versus “reactive” DI, but in all
cases the level of spurious change is consistently the highest under conditions of independent
interviewing (Jackle and Lynn, 2004; Lynn et al., 2004; Sala and Lynn, 2004).
3. SIPP
SIPP is a nationally-representative, interviewer-administered, longitudinal survey conducted by
the U.S. Census Bureau. It provides data on income, wealth, and poverty in the United States, the
dynamics of program participation, and the effects of government programs. Each SIPP panel
consists of multiple waves (or rounds) of interviewing, with waves administered three times a
year, at four month intervals. The SIPP sample is split into four equivalent subsamples, called
“rotation groups;” each rotation group’s interview schedule is staggered by one month, in order to
maintain a constant workload for field staff. All SIPP interviews are now conducted with a
computer-assisted questionnaire; the first interview is administered in-person, subsequent
interviews are often conducted via telephone. The SIPP core instrument, which contains the
survey content that is repeated in every survey wave, is detailed, long, and complex, collecting
information about household structure, labor force participation, income sources and amounts,
educational attainment, school enrollment, and health insurance over the prior four-month period.
A typical SIPP interview takes about 30 minutes per interviewed adult. See U.S. Census Bureau
(2001) for a more complete description of the SIPP program.
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