ESRA 2027 sessions by theme
Back to Overview of Sessions
Collecting Household Composition in Self-Administered Surveys: Challenges, Innovations, and Best Practices for Panel Studies |
| Coordinator 1 | Ms Stephanie Stuck (SHARE Berlin Institute) |
| Coordinator 2 | Mr Fabio Franzese (SHARE Berlin Institute) |
| Coordinator 3 | Ms Sabrina Zuber (SHARE Berlin Institute) |
| Coordinator 4 | Ms Magdalena Hecher (SHARE Berlin Institute) |
| Coordinator 5 | Ms Magdalena Gerum (SHARE Berlin Institute) |
Session Details
Information on household composition is highly relevant across the social sciences, providing essential insights into living arrangements and (changing) household structures. In panel studies, household composition is also of crucial operational importance. Accurate and up-to-date information on who belongs to a household can determine how respondents are followed over time, including situations in which new persons move in and become eligible or household members move out and stay eligible for individual follow-up.
Collecting information on household composition and its changes in self-administered surveys, however, presents a number of methodological and practical challenges. These may arise from the survey designed for multiple respondents within a household, especially with different respondent or interview types within the same household. Collecting contact information, such as postal addresses, email addresses, or telephone numbers, for other household members, particularly those who have moved out, can be challenging. Respondents may be reluctant to provide such information because of privacy and data protection concerns. Furthermore, recording relationships between household members and keeping household composition information up to date can be complex.
This session invites researchers and survey practitioners to present methodological research, experiments, and best-practice examples concerning the collection of household composition information in self-administered surveys, with a particular focus on web-surveys and panel studies.
We welcome contributions addressing questions such as: Who should complete a household composition questionnaire, one designated household member or any household member? How much information about household members can or should be preloaded? What are effective ways of collecting, verifying, and updating household relationships and composition while minimizing respondent burden? How can contact information for household members, including those who have moved out, best be collected? How can privacy and data protection concerns be addressed in the design and wording of such questions?
