Improvements for Dual-Frame RDD Sampling and Weighting Methodology

• Activity Number: 449
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 1, 2012 : 8:30 AM to 10:20 AM
• Sponsor: Section on Survey Research Methods
• Author(s): Mansour Fahimi*+
• Companies: Marketing Systems Group
• Keywords: RDD ; Optimal Allocation ; Dual-frame ; Poststratification

Abstract

Dual-frame RDD sampling methodology, whereby both landline and cellular telephone numbers are mixed, was devised to improve coverage of the traditional landline RDD samples. Current practice of this methodology, however, is subject to inconsistencies and technical inefficiencies. Due to unavailability of current counts of cell-only households, researchers rely on outdated estimates to determine the sample mixture. This becomes a more pronounced problem for county-level RDD studies because even outdated counts of cell-only household are not available for counties. These create inconsistencies and inefficiencies for both sample selection and weighting applications. The authors will introduce an innovative technique for obtaining counts of cell-only households for all Census geographic domains down to the county level. This will enable researcher determine the optimal composition of the cellular and landline sample components for dual-frame RDD samples, as well as provide the needed population counts for proper construction of survey weights. Moreover, the employed methodology will provide fresh counts for each county on quarterly basis.