Aging and the Reliability of Survey Data

调查数据的老化和可靠性

• 批准号: 6831190
• 负责人: Duane F Alwin
• 金额: $ 44.85万
• 依托单位: PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-02-15 至 2007-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6831190
• 关键词: Aging; Reliability; Survey; Data

EXCEED THE SPACE PROVIDED. This research investigates the relationship of age to measurement errors in survey-administered self-report questionnaires. The focus of the research is on the survey interview as a method of gathering social data, and the extent to which measurement errors assessed in such interviews vary as a function of the respondent's age. The overall aims of this project are to better understand the nature of survey measurement errors and the processes by which they are generated, and to make practical recommendations about the characteristics of survey questions that will improve the quality of data in surveys of the aging population. To accomplish these goals the research conducts a systematic analysis of the reliability of responses to survey questions using several nationally- representative panel data sets. First, we build upon our prior NSF-supported research using three surveys from the National Election Study (NES) series -- the 1956-58-60, 1972-74-76, and 1992-94-96 panel studies of the American electorate, and a fourth panel survey, the 1986-89-94 Americans' Changing Lives (ACL) study of health and well-being, to examine reliability by age, controlling for education. Second, we investigate these issues using two innovative panel surveys of middle-aged and older adults: the original Health & Retirement Study (HRS) panel study of preretirement men and women aged 51-61 assessed in 1992 (n=9,824), and reinterviewed in 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2000, and the parallel study of Asset and Health Dynamics (AHEAD) which interviewed adults aged 70 and above in 1993, and reinterviewed them in 1995, 1998 and 2000 (n= 7,447). The younger HRS (birth cohorts of 1931-41) and older AHEAD (birth cohorts of 1923 and before) respondents were asked many of the same questions, permitting the comparison of measurement errors across groups. Age-specific levels of reliability will be estimated for approximately 1,000 survey questions using a variety of state-of-the-art estimation strategies. Two basic approaches will be employed in the estimation of reliability- first the SEM-based maximum-likelihood approach for situations where it makes sense to assume continuous unobserved latent variables, and second the "latent transition" models that are appropriate where the unobserved latent variables are latent classes. Within the SEM approach the research will empoy several different estimation strategies depending on the scale assumptions appropriate to the observed data, including standard Pearson-based covariance approaches for continuous variables, tetrachoric correlations for dichotomous variables and polychoric-based asymptotic covariance approach with weighted least squares estimation for ordinal variables. A major focus of the analysis is on age-related differences in the impact of the formal properties of survey questions (e.g., question content, length of question text, number and complexity of response options, and the provision of explicit "Don't Know" response options) on reliability. Assembling information on reliability from these data sources can help improve knowledge about the strengths and weaknesses of survey data. It is expected that the results of this research will be relevant to the general task of uncovering the sources of age-related measurement errors in surveys and the improvement of methods of survey data collection across the life span through the application of this knowledge. PERFORMANCE SITE ========================================Section End===========================================

超出所提供的空间。本研究调查了自我报告问卷中年龄与测量误差的关系。该研究的重点是调查访谈作为一种收集社会数据的方法，以及此类访谈中评估的测量误差的程度随着受访者年龄的变化而变化。该项目的总体目标是更好地了解调查测量误差的性质及其产生过程，并就调查问题的特征提出切实可行的建议，以提高人口老龄化调查的数据质量。为了实现这些目标，该研究使用几个具有全国代表性的面板数据集对调查问题答复的可靠性进行了系统分析。首先，我们利用国家选举研究 (NES) 系列中的三项调查（1956-58-60、1972-74-76 和 1992-94-96 对美国选民的小组研究）以及第四项小组调查（1986-89-94 美国人的健康和福祉改变生活 (ACL) 研究）建立在我们之前 NSF 支持的研究的基础上，以检查年龄的可靠性，控制教育。其次，我们利用针对中老年人的两项创新性小组调查来调查这些问题：最初的健康与退休研究 (HRS) 小组研究针对 51-61 岁的退休前男性和女性，于 1992 年进行了评估（n=9,824），并于 1994 年、1996 年、1998 年和 2000 年进行了重新访谈，以及资产与健康动态 (AHEAD) 的平行研究，该研究采访了 51-61 岁的成年人70及以上 1993 年，并于 1995 年、1998 年和 2000 年再次采访他们（n = 7,447）。年轻的 HRS（1931-41 年出生队列）和年长 AHEAD（1923 年及之前的出生队列）受访者被问到许多相同的问题，从而可以比较各组之间的测量误差。将使用各种最先进的估计策略来估计大约 1,000 个调查问题的特定年龄的可靠性水平。在可靠性估计中将采用两种基本方法——首先是基于 SEM 的最大似然方法，适用于假设连续未观察到的潜在变量是有意义的情况，其次是“潜在转变”模型，适用于未观察到的潜在变量是潜在类别的情况。在 SEM 方法中，研究将根据适合观测数据的尺度假设采用几种不同的估计策略，包括针对连续变量的基于皮尔逊的标准协方差方法、针对二分变量的四向相关性以及针对有序变量的加权最小二乘估计的基于多元的渐近协方差方法。分析的一个主要重点是调查问题的形式属性（例如问题内容、问题文本的长度、回答选项的数量和复杂性以及提供明确的“不知道”回答选项）对可靠性影响的与年龄相关的差异。从这些数据源收集有关可靠性的信息可以帮助提高对调查数据的优缺点的了解。预计这项研究的结果将与揭示调查中与年龄相关的测量误差的来源以及通过应用这些知识改进整个生命周期的调查数据收集方法的一般任务相关。表演网站==========================================章节结束===============================================