Do Economic and Demographic Characteristics Differ between Web and Mail Respondents to the 2005 Census of Agriculture Content Test? By Nancy J. Dickey Zulma T. Riberas
National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS) Census of Agriculture l l Census is conducted every 5 years Prior to the census a content test is conducted
Why conduct a Census Content Test? To evaluate: • Format and design of the instrument • New content items • Changes to question wording • Procedural changes
Why conduct a Census Content Test? l Results are used to identify modifications to incorporate into the final design of the data collection tool
What’s New for Census 2007 l l l NASS was required to provide respondents the option of completing the census on the Web Two paper versions of the questionnaire, a long form of 24 pages and a short form of 12 pages, and one Web version Short form used a open table format to collect data. Respondents wrote in their crops and/or livestock information
SAMPLE l 27, 900 cases – – 14, 995 long form 12, 905 short form
Additional Sample l l An additional sample of 200 cases received a pre-survey letter via mail encouraging them to complete the survey on the Web These 200 were selected from a population of respondents who had previously reported an agricultural survey using a Web instrument
Survey Details l l l Initial mail-out was on December 30, 2005 Postcard/reminder was sent on January 17, 2006 Non-response replacement questionnaire was sent to all non-respondents on February 9, 2006
Survey Details - Continued l l l Forms were checked-in, scanned for image, and data were keyed from the electronic image Records were not edited for consistency or missing data There was only one Web instrument which was similar in content and format to the long form paper version
Survey Results l l l 618 respondents submitted their responses using the Web instrument 12, 596 respondents submitted their responses using the mail version of the instrument From the sample of 200, 61 responded via Web and 91 responded via mail
So, based on the 2005 Census of Agriculture Content Test did Mail Respondents differ from Web Respondents economically or demographically?
Size of Farm l l Average size of the farm for Web respondents was 1, 157 acres. The median size was 85 acres Average size of the farm for mail respondents was 804 acres. The median size was 110 acres
Have Internet access? Respondents were asked the following question: At any time during 2005, did this operation have Internet access? ___ YES ___ NO l
Have Internet access
Use of a Computer for the Farm Business ? Respondents were asked the following question: At any time during 2005, did this operation use a computer for the farm business? ___ YES ___ NO l
Use of a Computer for the Farm Business
Age of the Principal Operator l l Average of Web respondents is 52 years Average of Mail respondents is 58 years
Age of Operator
Other Economic and Demographic Comparisons l l Total Household Income Type of Organization Sex of Principal Operator Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino Origin
Observations l There was no relationship between household income, type of organization, sex of principal operator, and whether the respondent was of Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino origin and the mode of data collection
Missing Data l l There was a large amount of missing data for some of the items Early in the data collection process it was discovered that some items in the web instrument were not being captured properly These problems were fixed as they were discovered This was the first use of the Web instrument
Missing Data – Type of Organization l l 52. 91 percent of Web respondents did not answer this question 8. 58 percent of mail respondents did not answer this question Question was at the end of the form Respondents may have quit the Web survey before reaching this question
Internet Access l l l For Web respondents, 85. 76% did not answer this question For Mail respondents, 6. 80% did not respond Finding is inconsistent since Web respondents were filling the form out on the Web
What went wrong? l Respondent was asked if the operation had access to the internet. Maybe the operator has home internet access but not specifically for the farm. So it could be the wording of the questionnaire
Summary l Analysis was based on the hypothesis that Web respondents differ from mail respondents. We expected Web respondents to be younger, male, and less racially diverse than mail respondents. We expected Web respondents to have larger operations, and greater income.
What now? l l Our findings indicate that age, race, size of farm operation, internet access, and computer use for farm business seem to have a relationship to the mode of data collection chosen by the respondent More research is needed to determine the nature of the relationship between these variables
l l It was disturbing to notice the high item nonresponse These findings stress the importance of testing the Web instrument before respondents are given the opportunity to use it
2007 Census of Agriculture l l The same analysis will be done using data from the 2007 Census of Agriculture Knowing if certain characteristics of the population will report via the Web can result in cost savings, better data quality, and increased survey efficiency
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