Study of Item Nonresponse for a Sample of Questionnaires for the 2007 Commodity Flow Survey (CFS)

• Activity Number: 265
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Tuesday, August 5, 2008 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Survey Research Methods
• Author(s): Hossain Eftekhari-Sanjani*+ and Ronald Duych and Joy Sharp and Michael Margreta
• Companies: U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Department of Transportation
• Keywords: Item Non-Response ; Establishment Questionnaire ; Commodity Flow Survey ; Transportation ; Establishment Survey ; Data Quality

Abstract

The CFS is a quinquennial, nationwide survey that collects data on the shipment of goods within the United States. As part of the Economic Census, it is conducted jointly by the U.S. DOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, and the U.S. Census Bureau. A sample of the 2007 CFS completed questionnaires was selected for in-depth investigation of missing or bad responses to items. This research aims to assess existing item nonresponse, type of items most affected, and relationship of item nonresponse to the job title of the respondent. Results indicated that about 70% of respondents are in management occupations, transportation-related occupations had the lowest item nonresponse, items requiring consulting establishment records had higher item nonresponse, and item nonresponse varied by industry classification of establishment.