Updated August 2010
TIMOTHY TRIPLETT
Urban Institute
2100 M Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20037
Phone: (202) 261-5579
Fax: (202) 293-1918
Email: ttriplet@ui.urban.org
Web Site: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/ttriplett13/
Education:
B.A., University of Maryland, Economics and Statistics, 1982
M.A.,
Focus: Public Choice, Development Economics, Econometrics
M.P.P., University of Maryland, Master of Public Policy, 1988
Focus: Regulatory Analysis
Present Position:
Senior Survey Methodologist
Statistical Methods Group
Urban Institute
Washington D.C.
January 2007 to Present
Previous Positions:
Survey Associate and Survey Manager for the National Survey of America’s Families
Assessing the New Federalism
Urban Institute
January 2002 to December 2006
Computer Resources Manager and Senior Project Manager
Survey Research Center, University of Maryland, College Park
September 1987 to January 2002
May 1983 to August 1987
Telephone Bank Supervisor and Computer Assisted Telephone
Interviewing
August 1981 to May 1983
Current Responsibilities:
MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES
- Provide consulting to UI research staff in the areas of research design, statistical design and analysis, survey design and analysis, survey operations, statistical data processing (e.g., estimation, imputation, weighting, sampling errors, response rates), and related areas (e.g., qualitative research design, cognitive interviewing, QA protocols & testing)
· Participate in research studies at UI as a statistical/methodological team member or task leader
· Provide mentorship to junior and other research staff across all UI centers via seminars, classes and one-one-one meetings
- Conduct primary research on statistical and methodological issues that are relevant to UI and social policy researchers with the aim of establishing survey and/or statistical methods that are more efficient, precise and rigorous. Some examples of this research includes; estimating the non-response bias; evaluating alternative weighting strategies; testing imputation procedures; reviewing call attempt data.
· Manage the survey component of various Urban Institute projects.
- Encourage quality survey methods through staff training, brown bags and promote standards of professional conduct and ethics for all Urban Institute projects that involve survey data.
OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES
- Writing and editing survey documentation that supports and improves the statistical analysis performed by researchers at the Urban Institute, including documentation useful to outside researchers using the Urban Institute Public Use files.
- Design and support the Statistical Methods Group’s Intranet Web Page.
- Research and evaluation of newer data collection techniques such as Cell phone, Internet, and self-administered phone surveys to improve the quality survey data collected at UI.
- Research and development of on-line statistical applications that can be used analyze NSAF and other UI data files.
- Reviewing and testing the accuracy and variance effects of the survey data weights as well as reviewing the procedures use to create the weights.
- Proving technical support for the NSAF Public Use files and the Urban Institute internal NSAF survey data files.
Other Positions Held:
Currently serving as
the organizer and meeting planner for the Urban Institute’s American
Community Survey (ACS) User’s group.
This involves maintaining and keeping the ACS intranet web site up to
date as well finding topics and presenters for future user group the meetings.
Secretary and
Membership Chair for DC-AAPOR (2007-2008): DC-AAPOR is the largest local
chapter of the American Association of Public Opinion Research (AAPOR). As a member of the executive council the
secretary’s primary role was to help plan seminars and events, answer
members’ questions, and recruit new members.
AAPOR program committee volunteer (2008-2009): Reviewed abstract submissions for the
2009 AAPOR Conference held in
President of the College Park Berwyn District Civic
Association (BDCA) (2004-2007):
Founded in 1885, the Berwyn District Civic Association (BDCA) is the
oldest active civic association in the State of
Program Chair for the 1998 International Field Technology
Conference: This position involved
putting together technology sessions for the 1998 International Field Directors
and Technology Conference held in St. Louis,
Assistant Program Chair for the 1997 International Field Technology Conference: This Position involved helping plan technology sessions for the 1997 International Field Directors and Technology Conference held in Norfolk, Virginia, May 1997.
1978-1982: Research Internship - United States Department of Labor - the Employment and Training Administration - Research Division: Helped evaluate grant proposals, worked on in-house research projects and wrote SAS programs to analyze data.
Selected Survey Research Projects Coordinated:
MASSACHUSETT AND WASHINGTON D.C HEALTH INSURANCE SURVEY
– These health insurance surveys are innovative in their use of an
address based sampling frames and multi-mode data collection as a replacement
for studies that previously were conducted on the phone using RDD samples. This approach has now been used
successfully for two separate
SURVEY OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN THE ARTS (SPPA) – The SPPA is sponsored by the United Stated National Endowment for the Arts. Timothy Triplett has worked on the design of the SPPA starting with original SPPA study in 1982. Timothy is also the principal investigator for both the 2008 and 2012 SPPA planning studies. The purpose of these planning studies is to collect information relevant to maximizing the value and accuracy of the future SPPA surveys. This work includes conversations with both users and content experts regarding content and method. It also includes tests of prospective or potentially problematic questions. The final deliverables are a report with recommendations on survey mode and possible changes to the content of the SPPA.
NATIONAL SURVEY OF AMERICA’S FAMILIES (NSAF) - The
National Survey of America's Families provides a comprehensive look at the
well-being of children and non-elderly adults, and reveals sometimes striking
differences among the 13 states studied in depth. The survey provides
quantitative measures of child, adult and family well-being in
TIME USE STUDY - sponsored by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. A two-year study of how Americans use their time. In addition to coordinating the project was responsible for the design of the computer assisted telephone interviewing 24 hour time diary. Also responsible for designing and managing a two-year nationwide random digit dialing sample that yielded approximately 10,000 completed surveys. Many of the design features from this study were adopted and are now incorporated into the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s American Time Use Survey.
GUMS (Gay Urban Male Study) - A health and sexual behavioral
survey conducted in households that have at least one openly gay male member.
The study involved conducting a telephone interview with a randomly selected
gay member of the household with data collection is occurring in four sites;
MORTECH (Mortgage Technology Study) - A telephone-interviewing project conducted for Real Estate Solutions. A total of 650 telephone interviews are completed with a nationwide random sample of commercial banks, Mortgage banks, and Savings and Loans. The questionnaire asked the senior executive in charge of the mortgage loan operation issues of technology and computer usage. This study was conducted every two years beginning in 1988 and ending in 1998. Served as the project manager, and was responsible for the sample and questionnaire design.
VIGNETTE – An international project conducted in
Publications:
"The Flotilla Entrants" Cuban Studies, Volume 1, January, 1982 (with Robert Bach)
"Survey
Sponsorship, Response Rates, and Response Effects" Social Science
Quarterly September 1992 (with
"Using a parallel "CASES" instrument to edit call record information and remove incorrect data (A description of the SRC fixit program)." Statistical Policy Working Paper 25, Data Editing Workshop and Exposition, Chapter 7, Statistical Policy Office, Office of Management and Budget (with Beth Webb)
"Initial Cooperators versus Converted Refusals are there Differences in Data Quality?" American Statistical Association 1996 Proceedings of the Section on Survey Research Methods Volume II (with Johnny Blair, Teresa Hamilton and Yun Chiao Kang)
"A Comparison of Mail and E-Mail for a Survey of Employees in U.S. Statistical Agencies" Journal of Official Statistics 15, no. 1 (March 1999): 39-56 (with Mick P. Couper and Johnny Blair)
"How Long Should You Wait Before Attempting to Convert a Refusal?" American Statistical Association 2001 Proceedings of the Section on Survey Research Methods (with Julie Scheib and Johnny Blair)
"A Review of SDA: Survey Documentation and Analysis" Journal of Official Statistics 18, no. 1 (March 2002): 120-121.
"Using Surveys" Chapter 9 in the second edition of the 2004 Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation (with Kathryn Newcomer)
“Lessons Learned from the National Survey of America’s Families” Urban Institute Press, Discussion Paper: 06-04, (December 2006) (with Laura Wherry)
“Five Questions with Tim Triplett” Urban Institute Press, Interview done December 2006
“What can Survey Organizations do to improve their Client Relationships?” Survey Research Newsletter: 1-4, (September 2007)
“Florida’s Medicaid Reform: Informed Consumer Choice?” Health Affairs 27 no. 6 (2008): 513-522 (with Teresa A. Coughlin, Sharon K. Long)
“Comparing Random Digit Dial (RDD) and United States Postal Service (USPS) Address-Based Sample Designs for a General Population Survey: The 2008 Massachusetts Health Insurance Survey” Survey Practice, (June 2009) (with Susan Shear, David Dutwin, Doug Wissoker, and Sharon Long)
“Can Your Spouse Accurately Report Your Activities? An Examination of Proxy Reporting” Survey Practice, (February 2010)
"Using Surveys" Chapter 9 in the third edition of the forthcoming Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation (with Kathryn Newcomer)
Technical Reports:
For all data collection projects the
"Public Participation in the Arts: Project Report for SPA'82" The main report prepared for the research division of the National Endowment for the Arts on the 1982 data. (With John P. Robinson, Carol A. Keegan, Terry Hanford)
"Public Participation in the Arts: Project Report for SPA'85" The main report prepared for the research division of the National Endowment for the Arts on the 1985 data. (With John P. Robinson, Carol A. Keegan, Marci Karth)
"Public Participation in the Arts: User's Manual" Prepared for researchers planning to do further analysis on the SPA'82 and SPA'85 data. (With Jeff Holland)
"Graduate students, faculty and staff interest in a Campus Child Care Facility" Principal writer of May 1988 report prepared for the University of Maryland Chancellor's Office. Report evaluated University's need of a Campus Child Care Facility. (With Dana Wagner, Teresa Hamilton)
"Responses of Maryland Public to Certain Advertising Practices" Report prepared for the State of Maryland Consumer Protection Agency (with John P. Robinson, Sue Dowden) (January 1988).
"Marylander's
Participation in the Arts" This was the main report prepared for the
Maryland State Arts Council. Report describing the methodology and results of a
Maryland Statewide Survey conducted for the purpose of measuring the Economic
impact of the Arts in
"Factors Affecting Academic Performance of Student Athletes: Focus Groups of Current and Former Athletes" The report prepared for the campus committee investigating ways of improving academic performance of student athletes. The report summarized the findings of two focus groups that consisted of former and current student athletes. (With David Rohall) (August 1994)
"A Study of
Residents and Employer Attitudes and Awareness Concerning Air Quality in the
Washington D.C. and Baltimore, MD Metropolitan Areas" Report prepared
for the Baltimore and Washington Metropolitan Council of governments. Report
summarized the findings of an ozone awareness survey conducted by the
"A Study of Residents and Employer Attitudes and
Awareness Concerning Air Quality in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, MD
Metropolitan Areas" Report prepared for the Baltimore and Washington
Metropolitan Council of Governments. Report summarized the findings of a
1997-98 ozone awareness survey conducted by the
"What is Gained from Additional Call Attempts & Refusal Conversion and what are the Cost Implications?" A report made available on my web site that updates the research done on total call attempts and refusal conversion at the University of Maryland's Survey Research Center. This report is updated with current data on an annual basis. (Last update November 2002)
“2002 NSAF
Questionnaire (Methodology
Report)” This report in
the Round Three Methodology Series focuses on the 2002 NSAF questionnaire. The
introductory chapter describes the household screener and extended interview.
In addition, the chapter covers respondent selection, types of NSAF interviews,
and the NSAF family definition so that the reader may gain a better
understanding of the NSAF questionnaire. The second chapter describes
differences in the survey instruments between the 1999 and 2002 NSAF surveys.
The remainder of the report provides the full text of the 2002 questionnaire. (with Natalie Abi Habib and Adam Safir) (April 2004)
“NSAF Survey Methods and Data Reliability (Methodology Report)” This report in the Round Three Methodology Series provides readers with an introduction to the National Survey of America's Families, its sample design, data collection techniques, and estimation methods. An overview is also provided describing the survey's dual-frame design, the format of interviews, and the types of questions asked. In addition, the methods used to minimize errors and compensate for those that are unavoidable in data collection are described. Finally, the report presents information on the survey's resulting reliability--both in terms of sampling and nonsampling errors. (With Natalie Abi Habib and Adam Safir) (September 2004)
“NSAF Public Use
File User’s Guide (Methodology
Report)”This report
provides documentation for the 1997-2002 NSAF Public Use Files, each set of
which includes data on approximately 42,000 households, yielding information on
over 100,000 people. This report gives an overview of the survey, describes the
sample design and methodology used, and discusses the limitations on use of the
survey data. After providing an overview of the NSAF data, it also describes
how to use the data files, and offers instructions and examples on how to use
the NSAF survey weights. (with Natalie Abi Habib and Adam Safir)
(November 2004)
“Background Report on the Use and Impact of Food Assistance Programs on Indian Reservations (Research Report)” This report, prepared for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, reviews existing data sources and prior research on six programs operated by the Department that provide food assistance to American Indians living on or near reservations. The purpose of the review is to help identify future research needs and opportunities to exploit administrative data systems and recurring national surveys. The programs covered are the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), the Food Stamp Program (FSP), and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). Research topics of continuing importance include the impacts of reservation food assistance on health and nutrition, the characteristics that make nutrition education effective on reservations, the dynamics of program participation, and the contribution of tribal administration to program coordination. (With Ken Finegold, Nancy Pindus, Laura Wherry, Sandi Nelson, and Randolph Capps) (January 2005)
“2002 NSAF
Collection of Papers (Methodology
Report)” This report is a collection of occasional papers on
technical issues in the design, implementation, and operation of the 2002 round
of the NSAF. It is a companion report to the 1999 methodology series Report
No. 7 NSAF Collection of Papers and the 1997 methodology series Report
No. 16 NSAF Technical Papers. All the papers in this collection were
presented at either the annual May American Association for Public Opinion
Research conference or the annual August Joint Statistical Meetings. (With Natalie Abi-Habib, Tamara
Black, Simon Pratt, Adam Safir, Rebecca
Steinbach, John Wivagg
and Westat) (February 2005)
“2002 NSAF Data
Editing and Imputation (Methodology
Report)” This report focuses on the data editing techniques and
imputations that were unique to the 2002 NSAF data processing steps. It is a
supplement to the 1997 and 1999 NSAF data editing reports (No. 10 in both
series), and does not reiterate the data editing techniques, data processing,
and coding guidelines documented in these prior reports. (July 2005)
“Weighting
Procedures and Variance Estimation for the 2005 U.S. Level of Fair Housing
Literacy Survey” This report was added to project report as an
appendix that describes the weighting procedures used to produce survey weights
that were used to generate representative estimates of the various populations
analyzed in the report. In
addition, this appendix describes how to estimate sampling errors that can be
incorporated into tests of statistical significance when using the survey
weights.
“SPPA Advisory Committee Meeting Summary Report” This report summarized the Advisory committee meeting discussion that was held in order to get feedback to the National Endowment for the Arts on how best to conduct their next Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. (November 2005)
“Sampling, Weighting, and Variance Estimation for the 2005 National Survey of Nonprofit Governance” This report described the sampling and weighting procedures used to produce survey weights that can be used to generate representative estimates of the various populations analyzed. In addition, this paper describes how to estimate sampling errors that can be incorporated into tests of statistical significance when using the survey weights. (February 2006)
“2002 NSAF Nonresponse Analysis (Methodology Report)” This report focuses on the characteristics of nonrespondents to the 2002 NSAF and assesses the impact of nonreponse on the NSAF statistics. It includes analysis of the effectiveness of the call attempt and refusal conversion strategies across all three rounds of NSAF data collection, providing some insights on how the level of effort affects the quality of the data by reducing nonresponse. This report also includes a sociodemographic comparison of nonrespondents using census block information obtained for 2002 nonrespondents and respondents. (June, 2006)
“Summary Report
for the 2008 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts Planning Study” This
report summarized the recommendations from the 2008 SPPA planning study. The SPPA provides primary knowledge on
the extent and nature of participation in the arts in the
“Estimates of
the Uninsurance Rate in Massachusetts from Survey Data: Why Are They So
Different?” This methodological research brief described how
estimates may vary because of differences in the wording of the insurance
questions asked in the surveys, differences in question placement and context
within the survey, differences in survey design and fielding strategies,
differences in accounting for missing data and other data preparation, and
differences in survey fielding time frames. The analysis concludes that there
has been no single survey in
“2008
Massachusetts Health Insurance Survey Methodology Report” The report
is organized in seven sections. The first section (Section I) describes the
design of the sample used for the 2008 survey. Section II discusses the design
of the survey instrument. The next two sections describe our data collection
strategy (Section III) and data processing and preparation (Section IV),
respectively. Section V addresses the response rate to the survey. Section VI
describes the survey weights and variance estimation. The final section
(Section VII) presents estimates of the uninsurance rate in
“The Role of Faith-Based and Community Organizations in Post-Hurricane Human Services Relief Efforts” The events surrounding hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 produced one of the largest disaster responses by nongovernmental, charitable organizations, including both faith-based and community organizations (FBCOs). This report is based on a telephone survey of 202 FBCOs that provided disaster-related human services and in-depth, field-based case studies of eight organizational responses after the hurricanes. The survey findings address what types of services were provided, to whom, and the collaborations used by FBCOs to deliver services. The case studies explore what motivated the response in 2005 and suggest how such efforts might connect with the larger disaster response and human service delivery systems to provide needed services in future disasters. (With Carol J. De Vita, Fredrica D. Kramer, Lauren Eyster, Samuel Hall, and Petya Kehayova) (December 2008)
“2008 Public-Use Data File User’s Guide - A Technical Research Manual” In 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau fielded the National Endowment for the Arts’ sixth Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA). The SPPA is the nation’s largest recurring cross-sectional survey of adult participation in arts and cultural activity. Besides informing NEA-commissioned reports and policy decisions, the raw data are shared with non-NEA researchers for their own use. This User’s Guide presents basic information on the 2008 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA) public-use data file. (June 2009)
“2009 District of Columbia Health Insurance Survey: Methodology Report” This report describes the methods used to conduct the 2009 DC Health Insurance Survey, which collected information on insurance status and options in the District of Columbia. Data collection strategy, survey design, data processing, weights and response rate are among the discussed details. It also discusses the dual sample frame design strategy used to capture information on landline households as well as cell phone-only households.
Papers Presented at Conferences:
"Activity Pattern
Differences Between Telephone and Non-Telephone Households" Presented
at the International Conference on Telephone Survey Methodology,
"An Alternative
Respondent Selection Process for Random Digit Dialing Surveys" A paper
presented at the 1989 Field Directors Conference. The paper documents the
respondent selection process used on many of the surveys conducted at the
"Report on the Mean Call Attempts to Complete an Interview" A paper presented at the 1992 Field Directors Conference. The paper measures the difficulty of reaching various demographic groups in terms of number of call attempts needed to complete an interview.
"Automated Management of Two Stage RDD" A paper presented at the 1993 Field Technologies Conference. This paper describes the programs developed to improve the efficiency in releasing and managing a two-stage RDD sample with replacement.
"How Important are Additional Call Attempts" A paper presented at the 1993 Field Directors Conference. This paper examined both the benefits and costs of making additional call attempts and attempting to complete interviews with respondents who initially refused to participate. In addition to presenting this paper, served as chair for the session on refusal conversion, in which this paper was presented.
"Design and
Implementation of a Survey Cost Information Data Base” Presented at
the 1994 International Field Directors/Technologies Conference. This paper
explained the procedures and design plans for the comprehensive management
information system that is currently in use at the
"Call Attempts and Refusal Conversion Cost Analysis" Presented at the 1994 International Field Directors/Technologies Conference. This paper focused on the costs of making the extra effort. This extra effort being measured in terms of call attempts and refusal conversion.
"Initial
Cooperators versus Converted Refusals are there Differences in Data
Quality?" First Presented at the 1995 International
Field Directors/Technologies Conference. The presentation was revised
then presented at the May 1996 AAPOR (American Association of Public Opinion
Research) in
"Using a parallel CASES instrument to edit call record information and remove incorrect data (A description of the SRC fixit program)" This paper was first presented at the March 1996 Data Editing Workshop and Exposition held at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Also presented at the May 1996 International Field Technology conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah. The presentation described both how the fix-it program works and how other organizations could easily develop their own in-house editing program.
"Trials
and Tribulations: Using E-mail for Conducting Surveys” This was a
presentation done at the May, 1997 AAPOR conference held in Norfolk, Virginia.
Presentation described the procedures and difficulties that occurred in using
E-mail for collecting data from a large sample of Federal employees. This
presentation was also done at the May, 1997 International Field Technology
Conference also held in
"To Minimize Call
Attempts: How Many Times Should a Phone Number be Tried" This was
presentation done at the May, 1997 International Field Directors Conference
held in
"Results from The CASES users Survey" This was a presentation of the final results from the electronic mail questionnaire that was sent out to many of the organizations who use the CASES software. This presentation was done at the May, 1997 Field Technology Conference.
"Using Groupware
to Improve Questionnaire Design" This presentation outlined and
demonstrated how the
"Changing
Patterns of Telephone Call Attempts" Organized, presented and chaired
this panel discussion on the changing pattern of telephone call attempts in RDD
studies and how these changes are affecting budgets, response rates and
auto-scheduling algorithms. This panel presentation was done at the May, 1999
American Association for Public Opinion Research in
"A Transition
from Paper Training Manuals to On-Line Training Manuals" This
presentation demonstrated how the
"Internet Data
Collection - What Have We Learned and What Do We Do Next?" This
presentation reviewed previous e-mail studies conducted at the University of Maryland Survey Research Center. After this historical
review the presentation went on to discuss the
"How Long Should
You Wait Before Trying to Convert a Refusal?" How long should you wait
before attempting to convert a telephone refusal? Often you hear the
argument that you should allow a cool down period of a few weeks.
However, project schedules often force us to make refusal conversion well
before this two to three week period. Perhaps more
importantly, there is not any real quantitative evidence that two or three
weeks are necessary to improve the chances of successful refusal
conversion. This presentation was done at the May, 2001 American
Association for Public Opinion Research Conference in
"Comparing an
E-mail Survey with a Web Survey" This presentation compared a
government employee satisfaction survey conducted using e-mail a few years ago
and most recently conducted using a Web form. The presentation discussed
advantages and disadvantages of both modes of data collection with
recommendations for future employee satisfaction surveys. This
presentation was done at the May, 2001 International Field Technology
Conference in
"Effects on
Survey Estimates from Reducing Nonresponse in the National Survey of America's
Families" This presentation presented the results of research
conducted to analyze the effects of the extensive efforts to reduce potential
nonresponse bias in NSAF survey estimates. This poster presentation was
done at the May, 2002 American Association for Public Opinion Research
Conference in St,
"Collecting Time
Diary Data Using a Web Survey - Does it Produce Similar Results?" Within
minutes the time diary information that is entered can be converted into the
traditional minutes per day data file. However, how does this data compare with
traditional paper diary forms or telephone diaries that researchers have
traditionally used. This presentation evaluated both
the advantageous and disadvantageous of the web diary, using student diary data
for comparison purposes. This presentation was done at the May, 2002
International Field Technology Conference in
"Using a Short
Follow-up Survey to Compare Respondents and Nonrespondents" This
research was presented at the August, 2002 Joint Statistical Meeting held in
"Determining the
Probability of Selection for a Telephone Household in a Random Digit Dial
Sample Design is Becoming Increasingly More Difficult" This research
was presented at the May, 2003 American Association for Public Opinion Research
Conference held in
"Comparing
Incentives at Initial and Refusal Conversion Stages on a Screening Interview
for a Random Digit Dial Survey" This research was presented at the
May, 2003 American Association for Public Opinion Research Conference held in
"Success and
Failures of Various Approaches People Have Been Using to Try and Maintain
Decent Response Rates" Organized this panel discussion held at the
May, 2003 International Field Director's and Technology Conference in
"Sampling
nonrespondents, why, when, and how much?" This research was presented at the
August, 2003 Joint Statistical Meeting held in
"Using an E-Mail
Invitation to Screen Survey Respondents" This research was
presented at the May, 2004 American Association for Public Opinion Research
Conference held in
"The National
Survey of America’s Families, 1997-2002: A Project Summary of Response
Rate Initiatives, Implementation, and Results" This research
was presented at the May, 2005 American Association for Public Opinion Research
Conference held in
"Evaluating
Recall Bias" This research was presented at the May 2005 International
Field Director's and Technology Conference in
“Socio-Demographic
Study of Telephone Survey Nonrespondents” This research was presented
at the November, 2005 Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology Conference
held in
“Finding low-income telephone households
and people who do not have health insurance using auxiliary sample frame
information for a random digit dial survey”
This research was presented at the May, 2007 American Association
for Public Opinion Research Conference held in Anaheim, California and also at
the August, 2007 DC-AAPOR seminar in Washington, D.C. This
paper describes the results of oversampling low-income areas in
“Tips on how to write better survey
questionnaires” This
was a short course presentation given to a group of 35 people attending
the May 2008 International Field Director's and Technology Conference in
“Can your spouse
accurately report your activities – an examination of proxy reporting
from the 2008 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts” This paper
was presented at the 2009 AAPOR conference in
“Comparing Random Digit Dial (RDD) and
United States Postal Service (USPS) Address-Based Sample Designs for a General
Population Survey: The 2008 Massachusetts Health Insurance Survey” This paper was presented at the 2009
AAPOR conference in Hollywood Florida.
This paper compares respondents from a
Random Digit Dial (RDD) sample design with respondents from a United States
Postal Service (USPS) address list sample design for a general population study
conducted to gather information on health insurance coverage in
Consultant Work:
NATIONAL ENDOWMENT
FOR THE ARTS – 2008, 2009
Help develop the
survey design for the National Endowment Arts survey of outdoor arts
festivals. Provided recommendations
on how to improve the sampling methodology and reviewed the survey questionnaire.
Also, provided help with putting together an OMB application to get the survey
approved.
Created some new
national survey weights for a Howard Schuman project on collective preferences
in Democratic politics
CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICES - AMERICORPS PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT PROJECT: - 2004, 2005
Provided help in developing a sampling strategy, assisted
with questionnaire design, helped obtain OMB clearance, and provided support in
creating data set weights
WEBUSE- SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET: - 2002, 2003
Trained graduate students on how to create on-line data sets
for posting on the
PEW INTERNET & AMERICAN LIFE: - 2001
Created on-line time diary form for collecting time diary data on the internet. In addition, developed tools to extract and aggregate data from the web server into a SPSS data file structure.
AMERICAN'S USE OF TIME PROJECT: - 2000
Cleaned and edited previous time diary data files. Created a
new aggregate activity data file for the purpose of making it easy for internet
users to perform on-line statistical analysis. These data file were made
available at the
Tested and evaluated a new Windows based computer-assisted telephone interviewing software program.
Helped design and validate a sampling plan for estimating
the loss rate of materials at each library in the
REAL ESTATE SOLUTIONS: - 1997
Combined five mortgage banking studies that were conducted every two years beginning in 1988. In addition to merging, recoding and cleaning five data files, wrote data set documentation and a created a master codebook.
Put together a time use data file containing eight time use studies done between the years 1965 and 1995. Using this time use file, made a series of computer runs for a U.S. News and World Report article on parental time.
Reviewed and evaluated the Report "Results Tables from a Detailed Analysis of the National Human Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS) Respondents".
Reviewed and evaluated a proposed Windows based computer assisted telephone interviewing software program.
HUGHES CORPORATION: - 1994, 1995
This work included the development of a questionnaire that was used to collect information from scientists about their data information needs. Also, provided help in developing methodology for administering a questionnaire on the World Wide Web so scientists around the world could fill out the questionnaire.
RESOURCE PLANNING CORPORATION: - 1992, 1994
Wrote methodology report describing the three modes of data
collection (personal, telephone and mail) used in three nationwide time-use
studies done at the
Developed coding procedures for a
LEGG MASON: - 1988, 1989
Consulted on the development of a survey instrument that would measure the retail effect of a new subway station. Also consulted on the sample design of the market study and helped in statistical analysis of this Washington Metro study.
STATE OF
Helped design questions on people's perception of
advertising. Testified as an expert witness about the validity of the telephone
survey that used asked the perception of advertising questions. Also, analyzed results of questions
asked in the State of
SURRES (Survey Research Division of Applied Technology Corp.): - 1984-1988
Responsible for the implementation of projects between
SURRES and the
UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION: - 1983, 1984
Consulted on research proposals and questionnaire design issues and wrote computer programs for telephone questionnaires. Coordinated statewide evaluation of information services in County library facilities. For the library study, main responsibility was the organization of the data collection process.
Survey Research Computer Programs Developed:
Add or Delete Program - A program written in Visual Basic, that deletes lines or adds line to an ASCII file. One purpose of this program is to add blank lines to sampling data bases so that sample can be printed on call record sheets. Another use is the removing of unwanted records from data sets or to prevent printing extraneous sampling information on the call record sheets. The program has been expanded to include options for randomizing a file, adding a random number to a file, merging multiple files and sorting a file starting at any field location.
Combine - A Basic program written that combines open end text files created by the CASES' computer assisted telephone interviewing software (CATI). The program will combine the text file for surveys whose case identification number is listed in a specified ASCII file. In addition, this program attaches the interviewer identification number to each open ended item.
Compare - A Basic program that checks two data files and
provides a list of column and record discrepancies. This program written was
written as a tool for checking the accuracy of data entry done at the
Data Conversion (clean, household–to-diary) - Two
programs that were written for the time use studies conducted at the
Impute – A program that imputes a random donor record based on a series of matching keys that includes the option of assigning each matching key a priority weight.
Menu - A Visual Basic graphical interface that makes it easier for Survey Research employees to run network applications.
Random - A program used to generate strings of random numbers that can be added to any ASCII file. The main purpose of this program is for inputting random numbers into the CASES' CATI instruments.
Replacement - A series of programs that enable the Center to more efficiently perform two-stage random digit dial studies.
Sample - A Basic program used in designing and drawing
random digit dial samples. This program sets up the random telephone number,
case ID number, and cluster number for all Random digit dial surveys conducted
at the
Tally - A Basic program that enables telephone supervisors to get quick counts of how many completed interviews and refusals an interviewer has on any given shift.
Major Areas of Research Interest:
Public Opinion and Attitude Change
Survey Research Methodology
Public Choice
Questionnaire Design
Survey Sampling
Impact of the Internet on Society
Computer Networking