Aspects of victim survey methodology: results from the inventory of victimisation surveys

1. Aspects of victim survey methodology: results from the inventory of victimisation surveys Jonathan Allen UK Home Office

2. Using information from the inventory of victimisation surveys, with reference to the UK experience To cover • Interview mode • Use of interviewers • Sampling techniques • Size of samples UNECE-UNODC Vienna

3. Response to the inventory In total • 33 countries • 78 questionnaires • Identify ‘currrent’ questionnaires • Survey runs continuously • Survey was conducted in 2004 / 2005 • Survey planned to run in the future • 55 ‘current’ questionnaires UNECE-UNODC Vienna

4. Analysis units • All surveys • For use in standardisation • All countries • To assess distribution across countries • ‘Current’ surveys • To assess currency of overall findings UNECE-UNODC Vienna

5. Findings – design overview • Majority are cross-sectional surveys • Eight panel surveys • Five with a mixed design • One third referred to question sets within multi-purpose surveys • What are the implications? UNECE-UNODC Vienna

6. Overall surveys UNECE-UNODC Vienna

7. Current surveys UNECE-UNODC Vienna

8. Findings – mode by country • 17 countries report paper-based face to face • 10 countries report CAPI surveys • 16 countries report CATI surveys (7 of these also run face to face surveys) UNECE-UNODC Vienna

9. UK experience • British Crime Survey: • Comparison of domestic violence results from CAPI and CASI on BCS – 5 times as high on CASI • Scottish Crime Survey: • Comparison of paper face to face and CATI – higher victimsation rates on CATI UNECE-UNODC Vienna

10. Findings – source of interviewers UNECE-UNODC Vienna

11. Findings – sampling techniques • 16 used simple probability sample • 54 used multistage sampling with stratification • Main stratifiers • Geographical area (44) • Degree of urbanisation (25) • Age / sex (18 for each) • US only one to stratify by police crime figures UNECE-UNODC Vienna

12. Findings – household or individual selection Most countries interviewed only one person • 52 surveys based on selection of households • 15 interviewed whole household • 37 interviewed one person only • 24 surveys based on selection of individuals • What effect will this have on measuring household crime? UNECE-UNODC Vienna

13. Findings – interviewer gender UNECE-UNODC Vienna

14. Findings – sample size • Range from 400 to 60,000 households and from 333 to 75000 people • 19 surveys included 10,000+ people and 6 other surveys included 10,000+ households • Larger surveys tended to be multipurpose UNECE-UNODC Vienna

15. Findings – 16 countries have surveys of 10,000+ UNECE-UNODC Vienna

16. Conclusions • Considerable experience of different methodologies in design and sampling • Many surveys based on large samples • Use of in house external interviewers evenly divided • Indications of the move away from paper but not face to face UNECE-UNODC Vienna

17. Contact details Jonathan.Allen@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk Alison.Walker@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk UNECE-UNODC Vienna