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This study examines nonresponse and coverage errors separately in a probability Web panel survey by applying traditional postsurvey adjustments. This was done by using variables whose estimates were obtainable at both the survey respondent and the full survey sample levels and whose values were known for both the full survey sample and the target population. Nonresponse error measured by the differences between the estimates from the respondents and the known full sample values was not found to be large, implying that nonresponse error in this Web survey data may not be critical. However, coverage properties of the full survey sample show some problems, and traditional postsurvey adjustments were limited in alleviating the unequal coverage of the survey sample. This coverage problem was more evident for the subpopulation-level estimates.

A combination of propensity score and calibration adjustment is shown to reduce bias in volunteer panel Web surveys. In this combination, the design weights are adjusted by propensity scores to correct for selection bias due to nonrandomized sampling. These adjusted weights are then calibrated to control totals for the target population and correct for coverage bias. The final set of weights is comprised of multiple components, and the estimator of a total no longer takes a linear form. Therefore, approximate methods are needed to derive variance estimates. This study compares three variance estimation methods through simulation. The first method resembles what is used in commercial statistical software based on squared residuals. The second approach uses a variance estimator originally derived for the generalized regression estimator. The third method uses jackknife replication. Results indicate bias reduction is crucial for valid variance estimation and favor the replication method over the other approaches.

Objectives. While valid assessment of subjective well-being (SWB) is at the forefront of ageing research, literature increasingly reports cross-cultural measurement invariance on scales designed to capture SWB. This study examines measurement properties of well-established SWB scales and their comparability between older Hispanics and Whites in the US. Methods. We examined measurement properties of the satisfaction with life (SWL), purpose in life (PIL)and positive affect (PAF) scales using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and multigroup hierarchical CFA on three subgroups in the Health and Retirement Study: non-Hispanic Whites, Hispanics interviewed in English and Hispanics interviewed in Spanish. We also examined acquiescence response style in measurement invariance testing. Results. SWL was the only scale that provided reasonable measurement invariance. However, it lacked comparability in its measurement validity, with much lower validity for Hispanics than Whites. Measurement invariance was observed lower across all models when fitted on the data restricted to respondents with a tendency to acquiesce than the counterpart. Discussion. Our analysis offers evidence that the traditional measurement invariance test is not effective under the presence of response style for measurement instruments that use the Likert-type response scales. Research into cross-cultural differences in conceptualization of SWB and methodology to measure SWB is likely to improve our ability to accurately understand SWB with the increasingly diverse population.

Many surveys target population subgroups that may not be readily identified in sampling frames. In the case study that motivated this study, the target population was households with children between the ages of 3 and 10 from two areas surrounding Cleveland, Ohio and Dallas, Texas. A standard approach is to sample households from these two areas and then screen for the presence of age-eligible children. Based on the estimated number of age-eligible households in these two areas, this approach would have required completing screening interviews with 5.4 to 5.7 households to find one eligible household. We developed a model-assisted sample design strategy to improve screening efficiency by attaching a measure of eligibility propensity to each household in the population. For this, we used a modeling and imputation strategy that combined information from several data sources: (1) the population of addresses for these two areas with demographic covariates from a commercial vendor, (2) external population data (from the American Community Survey and Census Planning Data) for these two areas, and (3) screening data from a large nationally representative survey. We first tested this sampling strategy in a pilot study and then implemented it in the main study. This strategy required 4.2 to 4.3 completed screeners to identify one eligible household. The proposed approach therefore improved the sampling efficiency by about 25% relative to the standard approach.

Objectives: Nativity and family support may influence attitudes and behaviors that delay or accelerate the disability process in older adults. The objectives of this study were twofold: 1) to evaluate nativity and migration cohort differences in trajecto­ries of disability (assessed by activities of daily living [ADL]) among older Mexican Americans; and 2) to determine the role of objectively measured family support in the association between nativity, migration cohort, and disability changes over time.Methods: This is a longitudinal study with up to 18 years follow-up (1993-2011) using data from the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (N=2,785, mean age =72.4 years). Disability was assessed using self-reported limitations in activities of daily living (ADL). Nativity and migration cohort were self-reported. Family support was as­sessed by marital status and the number of their children participants saw each month. Linear growth curve models evaluated the trajectory of ADL disability over 18 years and assessed variations by nativity status, migration cohort and family support.Results: Foreign-born respondents who migrated before age 20 had more starting ADL limitations (β= .36, P<.001) and ac­cumulated disability faster (β=.04, P<.01) compared with their US-born counterparts. In contrast, foreign-born respondents who migrated at later ages showed disability trajectories similar to US-born respondents. Married respondents had a lower level of disability (β= -.14, P<.01) and a lower rate of accumulation over time (β= -.02, P=.001) compared with participants who were not married.Discussion: Mexican Americans who migrate at younger ages may experience greater disability over time; however, family support may help mitigate the accumula­tion of disability among older Mexican Americans.Ethn Dis. 2021;31(2):253-262; doi:10.18865/ed.31.2.253

The anchoring vignette method is designed to improve comparisons across population groups and adjust for differential item functioning (DIF). Vignette questions are brief de­scriptions of hypothetical persons for respondents to rate. Although this method has been adopted widely in health surveys, there remain challenges. In particular, vignettes are com­plex, increasing survey time and respondent burden. Further, the assumptions underlying this method are often violated. To overcome such challenges, this paper introduces an inno­vative technique, namely image anchoring vignettes, conveying vignette information with varying health levels in images. We conducted a cross-cultural experimental study to ex­amine the performance of image and standard text vignettes in terms of response time, how well they satisfy the assumptions, and their DIF-adjusting quality using a confirmatory factor analysis. The study revealed that respondents can better differentiate the intensity levels of the three vignettes in the image vignette condition, compared to text vignettes. Response consistency assumption appears to be better satisfied for image vignettes than text vignettes. Using well-designed image vignettes greatly reduces survey time without losing the DIF-adjustment quality, indicating the potential of image vignettes to improve overall efficiencies of the anchoring vignette method. Improving vignette equivalence (i.e., minimizing different interpretations of vignettes by different groups), remains a challenge for both text and image vignettes. This study generates new insights into the design and use of image anchoring vignettes.