An Evaluation of Delivery Sequence File Sufficiency in Rural and Suburban Segments: When Is Listing Required?

• Activity Number: 359
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Tuesday, August 3, 2010 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Survey Research Methods
• Author(s): Katie Dekker*+ and Ned English
• Companies: NORC and NORC
• Keywords: Delivery Sequence File (DSF) ; Listing

Abstract

Research has shown the promise of using of the USPS Delivery Sequence file (DSF) as a replacement for traditional listing. The inclusion of non-city style addresses means that the DSF cannot be used as a sampling frame of housing units in rural areas. The point at which the DSF becomes insufficient for in-person surveys is unclear. The Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) for the Energy Information Administration (EIA) used a hybrid approach to update the 2009 frame. Segments listed in 2005 were evaluated as to whether the DSF provided sufficient coverage by comparing counts to a number of controls. Listers updated the 2005 frames in the low-DSF segments during the fall of 2009. Results compare our a-priori assumptions with what was realized in the field. This research compliments existing work by exploring how to measure the point at which traditional listing is beneficial.