Abstract #302345

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JSM 2003 Abstract #302345
Activity Number: 358
Type: Topic Contributed
Date/Time: Wednesday, August 6, 2003 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
Sponsor: Section on Survey Research Methods
Abstract - #302345
Title: Detecting Possibly Fraudulent or Error-Prone Survey Data Using Benford's Law
Author(s): David Swanson*+ and Moon Jung Cho and John L. Eltinge
Companies: Bureau of Labor Statistics and Bureau of Labor Statistics and Bureau of Labor Statistics
Address: 2 Mass Ave. NE, Washington, DC, 20212-0001,
Keywords: Consumer Expenditure Interview Survey ; curbstoning ; digit preference ; Pearson test statistic ; reinterview ; quantitative survey responses
Abstract:

The quality of any survey's results depends on the ability to collect data that accurately represent the underlying phenomena of interest. In some interview surveys two potential problems with data collection are inaccurate reporting by the respondent, and fabrication of data by a data collector who does not contact the selected sample unit (a process called curbstoning). For each of these cases, one may be able to identify problematic interviews by evaluating the distribution of the leading digits of the responses to the questionnaire. In the aggregate, the distribution tends to follow a pattern known as Benford's Law. Consequently, it may be appropriate to re-interview the cases that display a markedly different distribution of leading digits. This paper describes a potential application of this idea to the Consumer Expenditure Interview Survey.

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