NCVS Redesign – Comparison of Interviewer and Web Survey Modes

• NCJ Number: 306998
• Author(s): David Cantor, Westat; W. Sherman Edwards, Westat; Pamela Giambo, Westat; Reanne Townsend, Westat; Ting Yan, Westat; Jill DeMatteis, Westat
• Date Published: July 2023
• Length: 162 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2013-MU-CX-K054; 2019-R2-CX-K001
• Agencies: BJS-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Third-Party Report

Description

This report describes the large-scale national field test and web test to explore the feasibility of using a self-administered, web-based instrument for the NCVS. It details the methodology and findings from this test of two survey modes. The report examines the performance of an interviewer-administered version of the new NCVS instrument compared to a self-administered version. The testing was a part of the NCVS Instrument Redesign and Testing Project, a major multiyear effort to revamp the existing core survey instrument, which was last updated in 1992. The effort had three main goals: modernize the organization and content of the NCVS instrument, increase the quality of information collected and efficiency of the instrument flow, and improve the measurement and classification of crime.