Abstract

James Esposito and J.M. Rothgeb (1995) "Evaluating Survey Data: Making The Transition From Pretesting to Quality Assessment," monograph paper presented at the International Conference of Survey Methods and Process Quality, Bristol, England. [This paper is to appear as a book chapter when the monograph is published in 1996.]

As an emerging discipline, the field of survey methodology has been influenced greatly by the scientific and technological advances of the past 25 years. For example, the Cognitive Aspects of survey methodology (CASM) movement that began in the mid-1980s was made possible by the cognitive revolution in psychology that took place in the early 1970s. The introduction of computer-assisted personal and telephone interviewing (CAPI and CATI, respectively) was made possible by the rapid evolution of personal computers in the early 1980s. Social, political, and economic movements have had an impact as well. For example, Deming's views on quality have changed fundamentally the way some corporations manufacture products and compete in the world marketplace. All of the advances mentioned above influence the way survey methodologists deal with and resolve data quality issues, and all affect professionals in the public sector who are responsible for providing data users with high-quality social and economic statistics.

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Last Modified Date: July 19, 2008