REDUCING THE EFFECTS OF ITEM NONRESPONSE IN TRANSPORT SURVEYS. IN: TRANSPORT SURVEY QUALITY AND INNOVATION

Item nonresponse is most commonly described as the absence of a response or absence of data. Literature has identified five phenomena that can cause respondents to respond either inaccurately or not at all to particular questions: knowledge and recall gaps; comprehension gaps; respondent burden; privacy concerns; and intentional misreporting to give a good impression. Some approaches that have been identified as effective in reducing item nonresponse focus on issues in survey design and implementation. Included are: improving the layout and graphical design of self-administered questionnaires; improved interviewer training; careful pre-testing; dealing with income data; and reducing underreporting of trips.