Advances in State-level Crime and Victimization Surveys: Lessons from the Oregon Crime Victimization Survey

State and local crime victimization surveys can yield powerful data for estimating the prevalence and incidence of victimization. State-level surveys conducted in recent years, however, have varied considerably in both methodological approach and rigor due in part to the increasing difficulty of surveying households in an era of declining response rates. As a result, a significant challenge remains for researchers seeking to identify the most valid, reliable, and cost-effective methods for sampling households and gathering survey responses. This webinar describes the use of three alternative forms of sampling and data collection modes using Oregon’s first statewide crime victimization survey as a basis. The Oregon Crime Victimization Survey (OCVS) applied a mixed-mode data collection strategy combining computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) with a “text-to-web” option and mail “push-to-web” approach. This allows for the direct comparison of three distinct samples and modes of data collection (i.e., random-digit dialing (RDD) CATI, RDD text-to-web, and address-based sampling (ABS) web) on crime victimization estimates, sampling error, response rates, efficiency, and costs. This webinar discusses the potential advantages and implications of a dual-frame and multimode approach and the importance of methodological choice for obtaining state-level crime victimization estimates.

Presenters:

Stephen M. Haas, Ph.D.

Dr. Haas is director of research and evaluation for the Justice Research and Victim Services (JRVS) portfolio at ICF. He has more than 25 years of experience in project management, program evaluation, applied research, and technical assistance. Dr. Haas has extensive skills in study protocol development, review, and adjustment, including site outreach, selection, and recruitment; data collection, preparation, implementation and monitoring, analysis, reporting, and dissemination; and nonresponse and missing data analysis, imputation, and weighting. He served as a principal investigator and project director for West Virginia’s first crime victimization survey funded by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Dr. Haas has extensive experience conducting research in victimology and evaluating victim services programs, including STOP Violence Against Women Federal Grant Program, the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners Program (SANE), and the Rural Domestic Violence and Child Victimization Enforcement grant. He has received several national honors for his work over the years, including the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s Visionary Voice national award for creativity, hard work, and dedication to the field of sexual violence prevention. For the Oregon Crime Victimization Survey (OCVS), he served as project director and key principal investigator and was instrumental in the development of all aspects of the OCVS providing content-specific knowledge of crime victimization surveys, the National Uniform Crime Reporting Program, and the Oregon National Incident-Based Reporting System.

Matt Jans, Ph.D.

Dr. Jans is a senior survey methodologist at ICF. His methodological expertise focuses on telephone surveys, asking sensitive and difficult survey questions, alternative modes of data collection, interviewer effects, and total survey error. Spanning over 20 years, his career has included survey administration and management, pilot test development and execution, questionnaire design and pretesting, randomized experiment design for surveys, cognitive interviewing, and web survey usability and user experience (UX) testing. Dr. Jans’ served as methodologist for the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), which is the largest single-state health survey in the US. In that role he was responsible for methodological innovation and documentation. Dr. Jans currently surveys as methodologist for ICF’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) portfolio of surveys. Dr. Jans’ survey design experience includes the U.S. Census Bureau’s Human Factors and Usability Laboratory, where he conducted usability experiments and expert reviews of Census Bureau websites and web surveys. Dr. Jans served as a co-principal investigator on the OCVS consulting on best practice in survey methods and focusing specifically on questionnaire design and testing, question wording and format related to mode considerations, and data collection procedures and techniques to maximize response rate and reduce total survey error.

Randy ZuWallack, M.S.

Mr. ZuWallack is a senior survey statistician at ICF. He has 22 years of statistical experience with 16 years of experience with state and local population-based surveys. He specializes in developing cost-effective, goal‑oriented study designs for national, state, and local research and evaluation projects. As a senior sampling statistician, he provides statistical expertise in sampling and estimation, develops analytic methods to address research goals, designs cost-effective methods for survey administration, and presents innovative research at industry conferences. He offers particular expertise in designing dual-frame RDD and ABS samples, including effective approaches to oversampling. Since 2003, he has provided sampling and statistical support for ICF’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) practice which has served more states than any other provider in the U.S. He recently worked on the Washington BRFSS pilot surveys, a project examining alternative methods to improve data collection quality and efficiency. Mr. ZuWallack focused on the sampling and weighting tasks for the OCVS.

Siobhan McAlister, M.S.

Ms. McAlister is a Senior Research Analyst at the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission (CJC). She has worked at the CJC for three years, conducting data analysis and project management on a wide range of studies. She has worked on projects examining recidivism among Oregon Drug Court participants, forecasts of prison beds impacted by policy changes, and reports evaluating racial bias in police stops. A project she is currently leading involves collecting data on U Visa certification requests and processing in Oregon, fulfilling a state legislative mandate. For the OCVS, Siobhan co-lead discussions with a stakeholder engagement group who advised on sensitive language in the survey. She also served as primary liaison between CJC and ICF.

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