Representation of Southeast European Countries in International Survey Projects: Assessing Data Quality
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Date
2014
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Ohio State University Libraries in partnership with IFiS Publishers
Abstract
This paper deals with the problem of unequal representation of countries in international
surveys, and the differences in data quality between survey projects, both obstacles to
cross-national comparative research. The first part of the paper investigates international
surveys on general population samples conducted in South-East Europe in the period
between 1990 and 2010. Documentation of country participation in both general and
region- or theme-specific survey projects shows that some countries are systematically
excluded from surveys. Consequently, from comparative perspective, the generalizability
of research results is not only limited but also potentially biased, omitting atypical cases.
The second part of the paper focuses on the quality of surveys. It finds that the most
problematic element of surveys is survey documentation, an essential component of the
data. Without documentation the value of datasets, analyses using them and conclusions
drawn on their basis are questionable. The proposed synthetic measure of data quality, the
Survey Quality Index, could lead to setting standards for the documentation of the survey
process, and thus facilitate cross-national research and allow for meaningful integration of
existing survey data.
Description
Keywords
Survey methodology, cross-national research, data quality, survey documentation
Citation
Ask: Research and Methods. Volume 23, Issue 1 (2014), pp. 57-78