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Standard Definitions: New and Improved

By Tom W. Smith, Standard Definitions Committee Chair

AAPOR has issued the seventh edition of Standard Definitions: Final Dispositions of Case Codes and Outcome Rates for Surveys (2011). AAPOR first issued Standard Definitions in 1998 and has periodically expanded and refined it over the years.

The first major addition in the latest edition is the section on establishment surveys. Previous editions had largely referred to household surveys. The second notable addition was a greatly expanded section on Internet surveys that discusses some crucial differences across probability samples, non-probability samples and river and self-selected online samples. Third, several clarifications and elaborations were made in existing outcome codes for other modes. Finally, some valuable new references have been added.

The seventh edition was recently endorsed by the World Association of Public Opinion Research (WAPOR) and was edited by Smith who chaired the Standard Definitions committee of Rob Daves, Paul Lavrakas, Mick Couper, Timothy Johnson and Richard Morin. Couper led the updating of the section on Internet surveys and Sara Zuckerbraun drafted the section on establishment surveys.

Suggestions for further improvements to Standard Definitions are welcomed.




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