Davern, M., T. Rockwood, R. Sherrod, and S. Campbell. 2003. “Prepaid Monetary Incentives and Data Quality in Face-to-Face Interviews: Data from the 1996 Survey of Income and Program Participation Incentive Experiment.” Public Opinion Quarterly 67 (1): 139-47.

This article investigates whether the use of monetary incentives affects the completeness and accuracy of information collected in face-to-face surveys. As applied to survey methodology, social exchange theory posits greater participant willingness when incentives are used. The argument is that survey administrators who want greater cooperation should offer something of value to respondents for their participation, thereby establishing an explicit exchange relationship. Others argue that monetary incentives lead to more item nonresponse through an alternative mechanism. The data used in this article are from the 1996 panel of U.S. Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). The SIPP uses a computer-assisted personal interview instrument. Data quality is measured using three indicators of the degree of respondent cooperation and the accuracy of a particular respondent's record. Edits occure when the data on the respondent's record seem to be inconsistent or problematic. The study found that incentives did not affect data quality in the following areas: the number of responses that are imputed, inconsistency in response, or interview breakoffs. It is suggested here that these findings should be placed in the context of a large federal study, with high response rate and reports on factual items.