Challenges National Statistical Institutes (NSIs) Face When Introducing Web and/or Mixed-Mode Data Collection: Roundtable Discussion (303655)

NSI’s are currently facing many (e.g., social, political, methodological) challenges related to survey data collection that directly impact on data quality from national surveys, including decreasing response rates, increasing data security requirements and budget cuts. To meet these challenges, NSI’s across Europe are looking for solutions---one of which is moving to online data collection as the only mode, or as a supplement to, current data collection methods.

Through the sharing of experiences, lessons learned and possible solutions found, NSI’s can learn from each other. To facilitate such sharing, from 2012 to 2014 Eurostat supported a cooperation project: The ESSnet-Project “Data Collection in Social Surveys Using Multiple Modes” (ESSnet DCSS). For this project several studies were conducted to find ways to deal with mixed-mode data collection. One prominent finding was: In mixed-mode surveys mode-effects are inevitable, but can be limited through conscientious questionnaire design for all modes.

We know that the reality can be different from theory. Therefore we will talk about the experiences of different NSI’s. Karen Blanke (Destatis) and Rachel Vis-Visschers (StatNeth) will lead the discussion by presenting the experiences of their respective organizations, as well as findings from ESSnet DCSS. Other NSIs will join the discussion to provide different perspectives and cultural experiences. Participants are also invited to present examples or bring screen shots of relevant material.