Fieldwork and Response Rates
The PAMCo methodology up to January 2025 consisted of a two-stage (postal/field) approach. During the postal stage invitation letters were sent out to sampled addresses inviting up to two people per household to take part via an online survey. The invitation letter was followed up by up to two reminder letters, each sent a week apart. A paper questionnaire was included with the second reminder letter. In 2024, an additional reminder was sent for all waves except H1C. This was sent to all non-responding households a week before the postal stage closed.
From January 2025, data is being collected from sampled households participating in Barb’s Establishment Survey, with up to two members from each household invited to participate in the PAMCo survey. A small number of interviews are being collected via online completion, in situations where the informant is willing to participate in the PAMCo survey but is unable to do so when the interviewer is in the home, or where the informant is someone other than the Barb respondent and is not available at the time of the interview.
Overall response rate is calculated based on the total number of addresses in the sample excluding any addresses that were ineligible. Ineligible addresses include those that are; non-residential, where the address is occupied but not main residence, address that are demolished, derelict or under construction and those that are vacant/empty.
During the postal and field stages, the invitation is for up to any two participants (aged 15+) per household.
Of contacted individuals, 51.7% agreed to complete the survey, of whom 56.2% actually went on to complete. While CAPI agreement leads to high levels of actual completion, only 31% of those agreeing to complete the survey online actually did so.
For fieldwork that took place between January – June 2025, of the addresses selected for PAMCo survey, 58.8% had completed the questionnaire. Of those, 80% completed the questionnaire via CAPI and 20% via online.