The application of the reasoned action approach to survey nonresponse

Abstract

A general trend of increase in refusal rates in surveys is evident over the past few decades (de Leeuw and de Heer, 2002). This trend prompted intensive theoretical and applied research in order to identify refusal antecedents, explore the linkage between refusal rate and nonresponse bias, and develop appropriate ways for reducing them (Groves, 2006). However, the effect of survey features on nonresponse propensity and bias seems to vary across survey designs, populations, and statistics (Groves and Peytcheva, 2008). Moreover, theoretical explanations of the mechanisms underlying the linkage between refusals and nonresponse bias are still limited in regard to predictive validity of participation propensity and effectively of techniques in reducing nonresponse bias (Cycyota and Harrison, 2006; Groves and Peytcheva, 2008). Since refusal rate is an aggregated measure of individuals' nonresponse behavior, it seems that a general motivational theory for explaining the psychological process involved in the individual decision to refuse, is needed.