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Use of Paradata to Evaluate Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Data and Operations
Lisa Mirel
AHRQ
Steven Machlin
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Paradata in survey research have become increasingly used in recent years to facilitate the monitoring of survey operations and to improve data quality. Paradata consist of information about the data collection process in a survey, including interviewer observations, interview language, computer generated time variables for questionnaire sections and numerous other variables. One survey that uses paradata to monitor survey operations and explore improvements in data quality is the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component (MEPS-HC). Data are collected in the MEPS-HC through a series of five computer assisted personal interviews (CAPI) that cumulatively cover a two year period on a variety of health related issues, including health conditions, use of medical care services, charges and payments, and access to care. This paper describes an evaluation of the association between paradata measures and reporting of health care events in the MEPS-HC, with particular focus on two paradata variables (CAPI data collection path and memory aid and record usage) and their association with reported office-based health care utilization.