[Survey nonresponse webinar and resources]

This page contains the outcome of an externally funded research project on survey and questionnaire nonresponse (unit nonresponse) – including a three-part webinar series and resources.

Nonparticipation (Unit Nonresponse) In Surveys: A Practitioner’s Guide to the Conceptualization, Impact of, and Adjustment for Unit Nonresponse

Dr. Pamela Woitschach and Professor Bruno Zumbo created this three-part expository webinar to provide a resource for data analysts, data scientists, researchers, and graduate students in the social, health, and natural sciences about the concerns that arise with survey nonparticipation, also called unit nonresponse, and when and how one may adjust for it. 

Structure of the Webinar

The Unit Nonresponse webinar is organized into three parts, allowing our audience and readers to engage with the information they consider relevant to their interests.
It is important to remember that the webinar was created for data analysts and applied researchers who work with data to respond to research questions but are not steeped in the research literature in statistical science and mathematical statistics. 

Part 1 – Purpose and Concepts

The first webinar video in the series introduces concepts that lead to understanding survey research and unit nonresponse.

Part 2 – Impact of Ignoring Nonresponse

The second webinar video in the series demonstrates the impact of ignoring unit nonresponse in survey research and using complete-case analysis on claims and conclusions made from survey or questionnaire data. The methods and statistics research literature often describe data analysis that ignores nonresponse as naive, but perhaps a more fitting descriptor is when an analyst or researcher is blissfully unaware.

Part 3 – Tools to Adjust for Nonresponse

The third webinar video in the series aims to present a sample of the tools often used to adjust for unit nonresponse, including when these tools can be applied. Part 3 also includes two short videos, syntax, and code demonstrating how to use a propensity score weighting approach using SPSS and separately using R with an example data file in various formats.

Citation

Woitschach, P., & Zumbo, B.D. (2021). Nonparticipation (Unit Nonresponse) In Surveys: A Practitioner’s Guide to the Conceptualization, Impact of, and Adjustment for Unit Nonresponse [webinar]. Vancouver, B.C.: British Columbia Patient-Centred Measurement.

Webinar Materials – Videos, Notes, and R code and SPSS Syntax Along with Example Data

YouTube Videos and Accompanying Notes in PDF for Parts 1 to 3 

  • Unit Nonresponse Webinar Part 1: Introduction.
    • Part 1 webinar – click here to view the YouTube video of Part 1 of the webinar series in a new tab in your browser. (1 hour 6 minutes, 1:05:59 in length)
    • Part 1 notes – click here to access the PDF of the notes in a new tab in your browser accompanying the Part 1 video. You can choose to save the PDF to your computer. 
  • Unit Nonresponse Webinar Part 2: Impact of Unit Nonresponse.
    • Part 2 webinar – click here to view the video of Part 2 of the YouTube webinar series in a new tab in your browser. (2:07:53 in length)
    • Part 2 notes – click here to access the PDF of the notes in a new tab in your browser accompanying the Part 2 video. You can choose to save the PDF to your computer. 
  • Unit Nonresponse Webinar Part 3: Approaches to Address Unit Nonresponse. 
    • Part 3 webinar – click here to view the YouTube video of Part 3 of the webinar series in a new tab in your browser. (0:57:28 in length) 
    • Part 3 notes – click here to access the PDF of the notes in a new tab in your browser accompanying the Part 3 video. You can choose to save the PDF to your computer.  

Supplemental Videos in R and SPSS Demonstrating the Computations to Adjust for Unit Nonresponse in Part 3

          • Video demonstrating the adjustment method using logistic regression demonstration (SPSS) – click here to view the YouTube video in a new tab in your browser. (0:07:59 in length)
          • Video demonstrating the adjustment using the generalized boosted model (GBM) demonstration (Twang R) – click here to view the YouTube video in a new tab in your browser. (0:12:16 in length)

Supplemental Example Data Files and R code and SPSS in Part 3

Data files for Part 3 – Click here to download a compressed zip file with all the files in subfolders for the demonstrations.  

      • A folder named “UnitNonresponse.”
        • The “DemoLg” sub-folder contains four SPSS files: two data files, syntax, and a csaplan file.
        • The subfolder “DemoTwang” contains five files: R code to demonstrate Twang, the R_history file, and three SPSS data files.   

 

Financial Support for The Project

This project was part of Dr. Woitschach’s part-time research fellowship with the Patient-Centred Measurement Methods cluster of the BC Support Unit and BC Office of Patient-Centred Measurement (BCPCM) with matching funds from the UBC-Paragon Research Initiative. She is a UBC-Paragon Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the UBC Measurement, Evaluation, & Research Methodology Program under Professor Bruno Zumbo’s supervision. The project ran from October 15, 2019, to March 31, 2021.