ESRA 2027 sessions by theme

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The majority of statistical and methodological survey research focuses on individual or household surveys, leaving establishment surveys underrepresented in the methodological landscape despite their importance for policy advice and official statistics. Both survey types face similar challenges throughout the survey life cycle, such as decreasing response rates, and measurement errors. Yet the sources of these problems differ greatly. For example, establishments consist of complex organizational structures that make identifying and reaching the correct contact person difficult. Furthermore, questionnaires tend to be more fact-based than opinion-based, placing higher demands on respondents.
This session invites studies on cross-sectional or longitudinal establishment surveys regardless of whether they are big or longstanding business surveys, experimental studies, case studies, or other empirical work with practical implications. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- New data sources and their linkage to survey data
- Methodological advances improving coverage and response rates
- Strategies to identify and engage respondents within complex organizational structures
- Mode effects and their impact on response rates, follow-up rates, and survey costs
- Measurement challenges unique to establishment surveys (e.g., factual recall, respondent burden, informant selection)
We welcome submissions from academic, official statistics, and applied research contexts. Our aim is to bring together researchers and practitioners to have a lively exchange on shared challenges, possible solutions and best practices for the field of establishment surveys.