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Evaluating substitution as a strategy for handling drop points in self-administered address-based sampling frame surveys
Lewis, T. H., McMichael, J. P., & Looby, C. B. (2023). Evaluating substitution as a strategy for handling drop points in self-administered address-based sampling frame surveys. Sociological Methodology, 53(1), 158-175. https://doi.org/10.29115/SP-2023-0004
Most addresses on modern address-based sampling frames derived from the U.S. Postal Service’s Computerized Delivery Sequence file have a one-to-one relationship with a household. Some addresses, however, are associated with multiple households. These addresses are referred to as drop points, and the households therein are referred to as drop point units (DPUs). DPUs pose a challenge for self-administered surveys because no apartment number or unit designation is available, making it impossible to send targeted correspondence. The authors evaluate a method for substituting sampled DPUs with similar non-DPUs, which was implemented in the 2021 Healthy Chicago Survey alongside a concurrent survey of the originally sampled DPUs. Comparing aggregate distributions of DPUs and the non-DPU substitutes, the authors observe certain differences with respect to age, employment status, marital status, and housing tenure but no substantive differences in key health outcomes measured by the survey.
