The impact of survey item characteristics on mode-specific measurement bias in the crime victimisation

In this discussion paper, the interaction between survey item characteristics and survey mode is investigated in terms of measurement bias. For this purpose a typology of survey items was constructed and is presented in the paper. Mode-specific measurement bias was estimated using a large-scale mixed-mode experiment linked to the Dutch Crime Victimisation Survey of 2011. This experiment consisted of a randomized allocation of sample persons to the four survey modes web, paper, telephone and face-to-face. A multi-level model is used to explain mode-specific measurement bias for a set of approximately 125 items from the Crime Victimisation Survey.