Mixing Modes in Household Panel Surveys: Recent Developments and New Findings

This chapter addresses the complexities of mixing modes in household panel surveys with a focus on how collecting data using multiple modes affects response rates and sample composition in any given panel wave, as well as longitudinally. It first outlines the major challenges of mixing modes in longitudinal household panels. The chapter then provides an overview of the combinations of modes that are used in the household panels included in the Cross‐National Equivalent File and a number of other ongoing household panels that have mixed modes for data collection purposes. Next, it presents the design and findings of the first wave of a two‐wave pilot study for the Swiss Household Panel, testing the feasibility of using the web both as the primary mod, as well as sequentially, in combination with telephone and face‐to‐face.