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Sorry I missed you...

We've been using "Sorry I missed you" (SIMY) cards for many years in face-to-face surveys. We don't know that they work, but we keep using them anyway. I suspect that these cards are useful sometimes, not useful other times, and possibly harmful in some situations.

We haven't really collected data on the use of these cards, but interviewers do usually say something in their call notes about the use of SIMY. I've been working with data based on these notes. I'm trying to identify cases where the SIMY is useful and where it may be harmful.

We should be running some experiments with these cards in the near future. As with many of the experiments we've been running in face-to-face surveys, we have a double burden of proof.
  • First, will interviewers respond to recommendations delivered via our computerized sample management system.
  • Second, if they follow the recommendation, does it help.

Hopefully, we'll have some evidence on one or both of these questions soon.
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Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 12, 2009 at 3:04 PM

    One on-going problem is that we don't seem to take the time to think about these issues theoretically. So why would SIMY cards work? Is it just an additional contact (occurring whenever the household member opens the door and notices a card), a social exchange, or something else. If it is an additional contact, then the location where the card is left may matter (I almost never go out my own front door). If it is a social exchange, as in Putnam's Bowling Alone, then it would matter that (a) the interviewer hand-writes a note, and (b) that the interviewer reveals something about him/herself (for example a phone number, best time to reach, etc.)

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  2. JamesNovember 13, 2009 at 3:34 PM

    One of my main interests with the SIMY card is to try and tailor its use to the specifics of the case. The first step is to see if that might be possible. My models (with messy data) indicate that there may be interactions between observable characteristics of the neighborhood and the effectiveness of the SIMY card in promoting contact.

    If we can establish that much, then it may be possible to experiment with other aspects of the SIMY card (e.g. hand-written notes).

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