Improving the Use of Self-Generated Identification Codes

In panel studies on sensitive topics, respondent-generated identification codes are often used to link records across surveys. However, usually a substantial number of cases are lost due to the codes. These losses may cause biased estimates. Using more components and linking the codes by the Levensh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Evaluation review 2010-10, Vol.34 (5), p.391-418
Main Authors: Schnell, Rainer, Bachteler, Tobias, Reiher, Jörg
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Codes
Coding
Data Collection - methods
Data Collection - standards
Estimation
Estimation bias
Evaluation Studies as Topic
Experiment design
Field work
Health technology assessment
Humans
Identification
Information Retrieval
Longitudinal Studies
Measurement
Models, Theoretical
Panel surveys
Research Methodology
Self-categorization
Sensitive topics
Simulation
Social Science Research
Software
Statistical Bias
Surveys and Questionnaires
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Description
Summary:In panel studies on sensitive topics, respondent-generated identification codes are often used to link records across surveys. However, usually a substantial number of cases are lost due to the codes. These losses may cause biased estimates. Using more components and linking the codes by the Levenshtein string distance function will reduce the losses. In a simulation study and two field experiments, the proposed procedure outperforms the methods previously applied.
ISSN:0193-841X
1552-3926
DOI:10.1177/0193841X10387576