Using Paradata to Evaluate Youth Participation in a Digital Diary Study

Marta Tienda , Princeton University
Dawn Koffman, Princeton University

The expansion of digital technology and Internet access has amplified opportunities and lowered the cost of longitudinal data collection. Mobile technologies are appealing for administering surveys to youth because they align well with their media and communication habits. This paper uses rich paradata derived from a year-long intensive longitudinal study (mDiary) that used a mobile-optimized web app to administer 25 bi-weekly diaries to adolescents recruited from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study. Specifically, we investigate which aspects of teen recruitment experiences are associated with enrollment and longitudinal response patterns that consider both interim missingness and attrition; whether compliance behavior of teens who require multiple nudges to enroll differs from that of their peers who enroll on the first invitation; and what social circumstances facilitate the highest levels of longitudinal compliance. The conclusion highlights implications for future intensive longitudinal study designs that use digital platforms to deliver surveys to adolescents.

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 Presented in Session 107. Flash Session Fertility, Family and the Life Course