The Use of Enhanced Contextual Priming in the NCVS to Facilitate Retrieval of Victimization Events

• In Event: Methodological Research to Support the National Crime Victimization Survey, 2008-2013

Abstract

NORC at the University of Chicago conducted research on behalf of the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) to examine how contextual information in a survey can improve data quality. In this research, we examined the effects of a memory aid, called the Enhanced Contextual Priming (ECP) module, on the recall of crime. The ECP module asked about topics such as feelings of safety at and away from home and level of trust in others. It was hypothesized that the memory aid would facilitate respondent reporting of crimes in the NCVS and that the broader context could increase respondent engagement in the survey, leading to improved response rates. NORC conducted a telephone field test of the ECP memory aid. In this field test, the recall of crime based on the traditional NCVS crime screener and a shortened version of the incident report was compared against a treatment condition in which the NCVS instrument was preceded by the ECP module. The results suggested that the ECP improved recall overall, specifically for property crimes. Although it was expected that contextual priming could increase respondent engagement in the survey, there was no effect of the ECP on response rates.

Authors

• Lisa Lee, NORC

• Pamela Loose, NORC

• Stephanie Poland, NORC