Does survey mode matter? Comparing in-person and phone agricultural surveys in India

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Development Economics
Year: 2024
Volume: 166
Issue: C

Authors (5)

Anderson, Ellen (not in RePEc) Lybbert, Travis J. (University of California-Davis) Shenoy, Ashish (not in RePEc) Singh, Rupika (not in RePEc) Stein, Daniel (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

0.804 = (α=2.01 / 5 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Ubiquitous mobile phone ownership makes phone surveying an attractive method of low-cost data collection. We explore differences between in-person and phone survey measures of agricultural production collected for an impact evaluation in India. Phone responses have greater mean and variance, a difference that persists even within a subset of respondents that answered the same question over both modes. Treatment effect estimation remains stable across survey mode, but estimates are less precise when using phone data. These patterns are informative for cost and sample size considerations in study design and for aggregating evidence across study sites or time periods.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:deveco:v:166:y:2024:i:c:s0304387823001554
Journal Field
Development
Author Count
5
Added to Database
2026-01-25