Sunday, Aug 3: 2:00 PM - 3:50 PM
00360
Invited Paper Session
Music City Center
Room: CC-207A
Applied
No
Main Sponsor
Memorial
Co Sponsors
AAPOR
Committee on National Statistics; NAS
Government Statistics Section
History of Statistics Interest Group
Social Statistics Section
Survey Research Methods Section
Presentations
Few scientists are truly transformative for their field of study; Don A. Dillman is one of those few. Don Dillman's research transformed survey methodology and survey statistics, and influenced how research is conducted in fields far beyond our own. With a career spanning over five decades and over 100,000 citations according to Google Scholar, Don Dillman's work blended basic science on how people and businesses view survey recruitment materials and questionnaires with applied work that yielded hands-on advice for survey practitioners at all levels. This memorial session paper will highlight Dillman's many scientific contributions to survey methodology and statistics. These contributions fall under four main categories: (1) theoretical contributions to understanding survey participation decisions; (2) surveys with single and mixed-modes and devices of data collection; (3) visual design for survey questionnaires; and (4) surveys in rural areas. The paper will end with a reflection of Dillman's influence on the current work of survey methodologists, including the presenter's own work.
Keywords
Survey methodology
Data Collecction
Mode effects
Questionnaire design
Survey nonresponse
Social exchange
Don Dillman was remarkably generous of his time for service on oversight and study committees of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which recognized his service by making him a lifetime national associate in 2016. He served the maximum allowed two terms from 2014 to 2020 as a member of the Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT)—its mission fit Don to a T: "to provide advice to the federal government and the nation grounded in the current best scientific knowledge and practice that will lead to improved statistical methods and information upon which to base public policy." As just one example, he chaired the CNSTAT consensus panel that produced "Measuring What We Spend: Toward a New Consumer Expenditure Survey" (2013). For the study, Don and other panel members took the lengthy CE interview, commissioned two redesign proposals, and came up with innovative recommendations for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This memorial session presentation will review Don's service on CNSTAT study and workshop committees, highlighting his evidence-based contributions, which stressed the need to meet respondents where they are to obtain more accurate and complete survey responses.
Keywords
Memorial
CNSTAT service
Survey methods
Don Dillman made significant contributions to survey research through his books that provide practical guidance, grounded in theory and supported by research. The first edition was published in 1978 as telephone surveys were rising, and Dillman articulated the importance of mail methods, that continued over his career. It was the first book to include detailed procedures and best practices and attention to how social exchange theory can inform decisions to improve responses. The second edition centered web surveys and his research experience in this area. It also introduced the Tailored Design Method recognizing that design choices should be tailored to each study's needs and can interact to help reduce total survey error. The third and fourth edition Internet, Phone, Mail, and Mixed-Mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method, authored with Jolene Smyth and Leah Christian, focused on providing guidance for conducting mixed-mode surveys and integrated substantial research on extending visual design principles to survey questionnaires and materials. Dillman's focus on applied research and providing guidelines people could follow set his books apart from others.
Keywords
Survey research methods
Survey methodology
Questionnaire design
Mail survey
Web survey
Relevant, timely, credible, and objective statistical information is part of the foundation of democracy and the fundamental responsibility of the U.S. federal statistical system. Don Dillman's multiple-decade partnership with the U.S. federal statistical system, including an appointment at the U.S. Census Bureau, enabled statistical agencies to uphold this fundamental responsibility by (1) enhancing the relevance of federal statistics through respondent-center survey design; (2) increasing timeliness by mode innovation; (3) maintaining credibility through data collection methodological rigor; and (4) ensuring objectivity using approaches designed to reduce nonresponse and measurement error. This memorial session paper will highlight Don's contributions to the U.S. federal statistical system by sharing and discussing the innovations he introduced through his consultations with various agencies, the advances he led at the U.S. Census Bureau while serving as the Senior Survey Methodologist, and the partnerships, collaborations, and friendships he developed with the federal statistical community during his distinguished and unprecedented career.
Keywords
Federal Statistical System
Survey methodology
Data collection
U.S. Census Bureau
Speaker
John Finamore, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics