Do referrals improve the representation of women in mobile phone surveys?

Random digit dial surveys with mobile phones risk under-representation of women. To address this, we compare the characteristics of women recruited directly with those of women recruited through referrals from male household members. The referral process improves representation of vulnerable groups,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of development economics 2023-05, Vol.162, p.103077, Article 103077
Main Authors: Glazerman, Steven, Grépin, Karen A., Mueller, Valerie, Rosenbaum, Michael, Wu, Nicole
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Gender representation
Mobile phone surveys
Referral
Regular
Survey methods
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Summary:Random digit dial surveys with mobile phones risk under-representation of women. To address this, we compare the characteristics of women recruited directly with those of women recruited through referrals from male household members. The referral process improves representation of vulnerable groups, such as young women, the asset poor, and those living in areas with low connectivity. Among mobile phone users, we show a referral (rather than a direct dial) protocol includes more nationally representative proportions of women with these attributes. While seeking intra-household referrals may improve representation, we show that it does so at a higher cost. •Passing the phone in RDD surveys improves representation of women.•Referrals reach more youth, the asset poor, and those living in low connectivity.•Costs affect scalability of referrals given low completion rates.
ISSN:0304-3878
1872-6089
0304-3878
DOI:10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103077