Replication Data for: The effect of advance letters on survey participation: The case of Ireland and the European Social Survey

This study examined the effects of advance letters on individual participation in the 2018 round of the European Social Survey in Ireland. As participation rates in household surveys have been in decline in many countries, understanding the impact of engagement strategies, such as prior contact, are crucial for fieldwork planning and overall quality of data collection. Based on a natural experiment, we assessed the likelihood of individuals to take part in the survey comparing those who have received an advance letter with those who did not receive it. Contrary to previous evidence on the effectiveness of prior contact, our results indicate that individuals in the sample that received an advance letter are less likely to take part in the survey. We discuss these results in light of an increasing public scepticism regarding social surveys and data privacy.

本研究考察了提前告知函（advance letter）对爱尔兰地区2018轮欧洲社会调查（European Social Survey）受访者个人参与率的影响。当前诸多国家的家庭入户调查参与率均呈下滑态势，明晰事前接触类动员策略（如提前告知函）的作用效果，对实地调研规划与整体数据采集质量均至关重要。本研究依托自然实验（natural experiment）设计，将受访对象分为接收提前告知函组与未接收组，对比评估两组对象参与本次调查的概率。与此前关于事前接触策略有效性的研究结论相悖，本研究结果显示，样本中接收提前告知函的受访者参与调查的概率更低。最后，本文结合当前公众对社会调查与数据隐私愈发浓厚的质疑态度，对上述研究结果展开探讨。