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Obtaining Administrative Record Linkage Consent by Mail: Examining the Impact of Incentives and Telephone Follow-up
Celeste Stone
American Institutes for Research
Harmoni Noel
American Institutes for Research
David Weir
Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
With response rates declining over time, researchers are turning to administrative records as a method for collecting rich and comprehensive data from study participants, while also reducing respondent burden and survey costs. Such linkage requests typically require obtaining consent from study participants for sensitive, personally identifiable information (PII). For this reason, these studies generally use interviewer-administered modes, where interviewers can build rapport and address respondents' concerns. Mail can be an attractive, cheaper mode, but little is known about the feasibility of using a mail survey to make such linkage requests.
This paper reports the findings from a study testing the feasibility of using a mail survey to obtain participants' authorization to release their Social Security Administration employment and benefits records for survey research. This paper demonstrates what to expect when considering a mail mode for obtaining record linkage consent, and evaluates the effects of different incentives and telephone follow-up on respondents' willingness to provide linkage consent by mail. Costs associated with each combination of methods are also examined.