Advances in Longitudinal Survey Methodology

3Innovations in Participant Engagement and Tracking in Longitudinal Surveys

Lisa Calderwood, Matt Brown, Emily Gilbert, and Erica Wong

Centre for Longitudinal Studies, UCL Institute of Education, London, UK

3.1 Introduction and Background

Locating sample members who move and keeping them engaged over time are challenges unique to longitudinal surveys. Non‐location of sample members who move between waves is a major reason for non‐response. In their conceptual framework for non‐response in longitudinal surveys, Lepkowski and Couper (2002) argued that non‐location should be treated as a distinct part of the response process that should be studied separately. The reasons why sample members are not located may be different from non‐contact and non‐cooperation, and non‐location can therefore have a different impact on non‐response bias. As residential moves are often associated with other life events such as changes in employment and partnership status, failure to track people who move may lead to underestimation of change, a key aim of longitudinal surveys.

Couper and Ofstedal (2009) presented new evidence about tracking methods used on two major longitudinal surveys in the US. They noted that although many large‐scale longitudinal surveys have high rates of tracking success, they devote considerable resources to this and there is relatively little research about the effectiveness of tracking procedures, particularly in relation to cost‐effectiveness. This led to a growth of research ...