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Adapting Geographical Sampling Unit Size and Structure for a Changing Survey Landscape

Abstract Number:

3114 

Submission Type:

Contributed Abstract 

Contributed Abstract Type:

Paper 

Participants:

Holly Cast (1), Nicholas Davis (1), Whitney Murphy (1), Chrystine Tadler (1), Nathaniel Poland (1)

Institutions:

(1) NORC at The University of Chicago, N/A

Co-Author(s):

Nicholas Davis  
NORC at The University of Chicago
Whitney Murphy  
NORC at The University of Chicago
Chrystine Tadler  
NORC at The University of Chicago
Nathaniel Poland  
NORC at The University of Chicago

First Author:

Holly Cast  
NORC at The University of Chicago

Presenting Author:

Holly Cast  
NORC at The University of Chicago

Abstract Text:

Recent changes in the survey landscape due to the Covid-19 pandemic include industry-wide declining response rates and mode changes. These shifts can impact the suitability of a survey's design. The Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS), a longitudinal survey of a nationally representative sample of the Medicare population conducted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), is a historically in-person survey with a three-stage geographically clustered design. The sizes of the secondary sampling units (SSUs) were set in 2014. Since then, declines in response rates and a switch to mostly phone interviewing in 2020 have required larger sample sizes than anticipated, straining the effectiveness of the existing SSU design. This paper describes these challenges, our methodology for evaluating alternative strategies for expanding the size and reach of SSUs, and the impacts of the size and structure of the SSUs on sample selection and estimation. We cover the role of SSUs in the MCBS design, options for increasing the size of the SSUs and the available sample within them, considerations for determining the size of SSUs, and tradeoffs between the SSU expansion methods.

Keywords:

sample design|data collection|survey sampling|healthcare surveys|Medicare|response rates

Sponsors:

Survey Research Methods Section

Tracks:

Sample Design

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