Evaluating a long-term methodological norm - the use of interviewers who have no prior social relationship to respondents - we compare response patterns across levels of interviewer-respondent familiarity. We differentiate three distinct levels of interviewer-respondent familiarity, based on whether the interviewer is directly acquainted with the respondent or their family, acquainted with the research setting, or is a complete outsider. We also identify three mechanisms through which variability in interviewer-respondent familiarity can affect survey responses: the effort a respondent is willing to make; their level of trust in the interviewer; and interview-specific situational factors. Using data from a methodological experiment fielded in the Dominican Republic, we then gauge the effects of each of these on a range of behavioral and attitudinal questions. Empirical results suggest that respondents expend marginally more effort in answering questions posed by insider-interviewers, and that they also lie less to insider-interviewers. Differences in responses to "trust" questions also largely favor insider-interviewers. Overall, therefore, local interviewers, including those whom, in blatant violation of the stranger-interviewer norm, have a prior relationship with the respondent, collect superior data on some items. And on almost no item do they collect data that are measurably worse.
Meta-analytic methods are becoming increasingly important in sociological research. In this article we present an approach for meta-analysis which is especially helpful for sociologists. Conventional approaches to meta-analysis often prioritize "concept-driven" literature searches. However, in disciplines with high theoretical diversity, such as sociology, this search approach might constrain the researcher's ability to fully exploit the entire body of relevant work. We explicate a "measure-driven" approach, in which iterative searches and new computerized search techniques are used to increase the range of publications found (and thus the range of possible analyses) and to traverse time and disciplinary boundaries. We demonstrate this measure-driven search approach with two meta-analytic projects, examining the effects of various social variables on all-cause mortality.
The importance of migration as a biographic event within the life course is asserted, using data for the former Federal Republic of Germany. "The migration process can be described by...various factors like the frequency of moves, the age when changing residence, the distance, the direction, [and] the motives.... Each change of residence has both a retrospective and prospective aspect. Additionally, changes in other biographic processes like marriage or births of children in the familial career or changes in the occupational career directly influence migration decisions. But there are also effects in the opposite direction: the migration process can influence the further development of other biographic processes. Thus, there exist a very complex structure of strong interdependent relationships between the several biographic careers." (SUMMARY IN FRE)
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