Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-669899f699-cf6xr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-25T02:39:01.547Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

8 - Interviewing in disaster-affected areas: lessons learned from post-Katrina surveys of New Orleans residents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2014

By
Mollyann Brodie ,
Claudia Deane ,
Elizabeth C. Hamel ,
Melissa Herrmann  and
Eran Ben-Porath
Edited by
Roger Tourangeau ,
Brad Edwards ,
Timothy P. Johnson ,
Kirk M. Wolter  and
Nancy Bates
Mollyann Brodie
Affiliation:
Kaiser Family Foundation
Claudia Deane
Affiliation:
Kaiser Family Foundation
Elizabeth C. Hamel
Affiliation:
Kaiser Family Foundation
Melissa Herrmann
Affiliation:
Social Science Research Solutions
Eran Ben-Porath
Affiliation:
Social Science Research Solutions
Roger Tourangeau
Affiliation:
Westat Research Organisation, Maryland
Brad Edwards
Affiliation:
Westat Research Organisation, Maryland
Timothy P. Johnson
Affiliation:
University of Illinois, Chicago
Kirk M. Wolter
Affiliation:
University of Chicago
Nancy Bates
Affiliation:
US Census Bureau
Get access

Summary

Introduction

Even before Hurricane Katrina began to form as a tropical depression over the southeastern Bahamas, New Orleans was a city facing a number of social challenges. The city’s majority Black population was plagued by high poverty rates, high rates of violent crime and high rates of chronic diseases, AIDS and infant mortality, exacerbated by one of the nation’s highest uninsurance rates (Ritea & Young, 2004; Rudowitz, Rowland, & Shartzer, 2006; Webster Jr., & Bishaw, 2006). When the historic port then became the focus of a combination of natural and man-made disaster, its residents became that much more burdened, many uprooted from their homes, some to other dwellings in the city, others gone from the state for good.

In the wake of this disaster, the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) determined that one way it could serve the New Orleans community with which it had a long history, as well as the policymakers tasked with leading its recovery, was to apply its survey research expertise to giving a voice and national visibility to residents by reporting what their lives were like in the aftermath of the storm, what they had experienced, what they had lost, and what they needed from recovery efforts. The project turned into a five-year effort which produced four different surveys of the local population, conducted during all three phases of disaster as described in Chapter 6 of this volume (rescue and relief, recovery, and development). The surveys were carried out in conjunction with a team of experts at Social Science Research Solutions, and each was fielded using a different survey methodology, which by default had to evolve along with the changing situation on the ground. This chapter will serve as a case study of this evolving methodology, and what these efforts suggest for interviewing post-disaster populations in the US and internationally.

Type
Chapter
Information
Hard-to-Survey Populations , pp. 157 - 179
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2014

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR). (2011). Standard Definitions: Final Dispositions of Case Codes and Outcome Rates for Surveys (7th edn.). Deerfield, IL: AAPOR. Retrieved from .Google Scholar
Aquilino, W. (1994). Interview mode effects in surveys of drug and alcohol use: a field experiment. Public Opinion Quarterly, 58(2), 210–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blake, E. S., Landsea, C. W., & Gibney, E. J. (2011). The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Tropical Cyclones from 1851 to 2010 (and Other frequently Requested Hurricane Facts). (NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS NHC-6). Retrieved from .
Blumberg, S. J., & Luke, J. V. (2012). Wireless Substitution: Early Release of Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey. Hyattsville, MD: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Retrieved from .Google Scholar
Bourque, L. B., Shoaf, K. I., & Nguyen, L. H. (1997). Survey research. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 15(1), 71–101. Retrieved from .Google Scholar
Brick, J. M., & Lepkowski, J. M. (2008). Multiple mode and frame telephone surveys. In Lepkowski, J. M., Tucker, C., Brick, J. M., de Leeuw, E. D., Japec, L. et al. (eds.), Advances in Telephone Survey Methodology (pp. 149–69). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters Database. (2012). The International Disaster Database (EM-DAT). Retrieved from .
Christian, L. M. (2007). How mixed-mode surveys are transforming social research: The influence of survey mode on measurement in web and telephone surveys. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Washington State University, Pullman. Retrieved from .
de Leeuw, E. (2005). To mix or not to mix data collection modes in surveys. Journal of Official Statistics, 21(2), 233–55.Google Scholar
de Leeuw, E., & van der Zouwen, J. (1988). Data quality in telephone and face-to-face surveys: a comparative meta-analysis. In Groves, R., Biemer, P., Lyberg, L., Massey, J., Nicholss, II W., & Waksberg, J. (eds.), Telephone Survey Methodology (pp. 283–300). New York: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Dennis, J. M., Chatt, C., Li, R., Motta-Stanko, A., & Pulliam, P. (2005). Data Collection Mode Effects Controlling for Sample Origins in a Panel Survey: Telephone Versus Internet. Retrieved from .
Dillman, D. A. (2006). Why choice of survey mode makes a difference. Public Health Reports, 121, 11–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dillman, D. A., & Christian, L. M. (2003). Survey mode as a source of instability in responses across surveys. Field Methods, 15(2), 1–22.Google Scholar
Dillman, D. A., Smyth, J. D., & Christian, L. M. (2009). Internet, Mail, and Mixed-Mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Galea, S., Nandi, A., Stuber, J., Gold, J., Acierno, R., Best, C., et al. (2005). Participant reactions to survey research in the general population after terrorist attacks. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 18(5), 461–65. Retrieved from .CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garrison, C., Bryant, E., Addy, C., Spurrier, P., Freedy, J., & Kilpatrick, D. (1995). Post-traumatic stress disorder in adolescents after Hurricane Andrew. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 193–201.Google ScholarPubMed
Gladwin, H., & Peacock, W. G. (1997). Warning and evacuation: a night for hard houses. In Peacock, W. G., Morrow, B. H., & Gladwin, H. (eds.), Hurricane Andrew: Ethnicity, Gender and the Sociology of Disasters (pp. 52–74). London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Groves, R. M., FowlerJr., F. J., Couper, M. P., Lepkowski, J. M., Singer, E., & Tourangeau, R. (2004). Survey Methodology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Heeren, T., Edwards, E. M., Dennis, J. M., Rodkin, S., Hingson, R. W., & Rosenbloom, D. L. (2008). A comparison of results from an alcohol survey of a prerecruited internet panel and the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, 32(2), 222–29. .CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heerwegh, D. (2009). Mode differences between face-to-face and web surveys: an experimental investigation of data quality and social desirability effects. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 21(1), 111–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henderson, T. L., Sirois, M., Chen, A. C., Airriess, C., & Banks, D. (2009). After a disaster: lessons in survey methodology from Hurricane Katrina. Population Research and Policy Review, 28, 67–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herrmann, M. J., Brodie, M., Morin, R., Blendon, R., & Benson, J. (2006). Interviewing in the Face of Disaster: Conducting a Survey of Hurricane Katrina evacuees. Retrieved from Public Opinion Pros: .
Holbrook, A. L., Green, M. C., & Krosnick, J. A. (2003). Telephone versus face-to-face interviewing of national probability samples with long questionnaires: comparisons of respondent satisficing and social desirability response bias. Public Opinion Quarterly, 67(1), 79–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ironson, G., Wynings, C., Schneiderman, N., Baum, A., Rodriguez, M., Greenwood, D., et al. (1997). Posttraumatic stress symptoms, intrusive thoughts, loss, and immune function after Hurricane Andrew. Psychosomatic Medicine, 59(2), 128–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kessler, R. C., Keane, T. M., Ursano, R. J., Mokdad, A., Zaslavsky, A. M. (2008). Sample and design considerations in post-disaster mental health needs assessment tracking surveys. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 17, S6–S20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kreuter, F., Presser, S., & Tourangeau, R. (2008). Social desirability bias in CATI, IVR, and web surveys: the effects of mode and question sensitivity. Public Opinion Quarterly, 72(5), 847–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krosnick, J. A., & Alwin, D. F. (1987). An evaluation of a cognitive theory of response-order effects in survey measurement. Public Opinion Quarterly, 51(2), 201–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Link, M. W., & Mokdad, A. H. (2005). Effects of self-reports of adult alcohol consumption: a comparison of mail, web and telephone approaches. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 65, 239–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, A., & Plyer, A. (2007). A Review of Key Indicators of Recovery Two Years after Katrina: The New Orleans Index Second Anniversary Special Edition. New Orleans, LA: The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program and the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center. Retrieved from .Google Scholar
Norris, F. H. (2006). Disaster research methods: past progress and future directions. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 19, 173–84.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Norris, F., Friedman, M., Watson, P., Byrne, C., Diaz, E., & Kaniasty, K. (2002). 60,000 disaster victims speak, Part 1: an empirical review of the empirical literature, 1981–2001. Psychiatry, 65, 207–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plyer, A. (2012). Facts for Features: Hurricane Katrina Impact [press release]. The Greater New Orleans Community Data Center. Retrieved from .
Plyer, A., & Ortiz, E. (2011). The New Orleans Index at Six: Measuring Greater New Orleans’ Progress toward Prosperity. The Greater New Orleans Community Data Center. Retrieved from .
Ritea, S., & Young, T. (2004, February 8). Cycle of death: How N. O. became the nation’s murder capital. The Times-Picayune, p. A1. Retrieved from .Google Scholar
Rudowitz, R., Rowland, D., & Shartzer, A. (2006). Health care in New Orleans before and after Hurricane Katrina. Health Affairs, 25(5), 393–406.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Safir, A., & Goldenberg, K. (2008). Mode effects in a survery of consumer expenditures. In Proceedings of the American Statistical Association, Section on Survey Research Methods (pp. 4436–43). Alexandria, VA: American Statistical Association.Google Scholar
Shoaf, K. I., & Peek-Asa, C. (2000). Survey research in disaster public health. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, 15(1), 65–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, T. W., & Dennis, J. M. (2005). Online vs. In-Person: Experiments with Mode, Format, and Question Wordings. Public Opinion Pros [online magazine] @ .
Smith, T. W., & Dennis, J. M. (2008). Mode Effects on In-Person and Internet Surveys: A Comparison of the General Social Survey and Knowledge Network Surveys. Paper presented at the Section on Survey Research Methods at the Joint Statistical Meeting of the American Statistical Association. Denver, CO. Retrieved from .
Tarnai, J., & Dillman, D. A. (1992). Questionnaire context as a source of response differences in mail versus telephone surveys. In Schwarz, N. & Sudman, S. (eds.), Context Effects in Social and Psychological Research (pp. 115–29). New York: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
The Economist Online. (2011, May 21). Natural Disasters: Counting the Cost: The Japanese Earthquake could be the Costliest Ever {Blog Graphic Detail}. Retrieved from .
Tourangeau, R., Rasinski, K., Jobe, J., Smith, T. W., & Pratt, W. (1997). Sources of error in a survey of sexual behavior. Journal of Official Statistics, 13, 341–65.Google Scholar
Tourangeau, R., Rips, L. J., & Rasinski, K. (2000). The Psychology of Survey Response. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
US Census Bureau. (2009). New Orleans was nation’s fastest-growing city in 2008: population getting closer to pre-Katrina levels [press release]. Retrieved from .
US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. (2006). Hurricane Katrina: A Nation still Unprepared (S. Rept. 109–322). Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. Retrieved from .Google Scholar
Voogt, R. J., & Saris, W. E. (2005). Mixed mode designs: finding the balance between nonresponse bias and mode effects. Journal of Official Statistics, 21, 367–87.Google Scholar
Washington Post/Henry J. Kaiser Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health (2005). Survey of Hurricane Katrina Evacuees. Retrieved from .Google Scholar
WebsterJr., B. H., & Bishaw, A. (2006). Income, earnings and poverty data from the 2005 American Community Survey [ACS-02]. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey Reports. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. Retrieved from .Google Scholar
Wilson, E. C. (1957). World-wide development of opinion research. Public Opinion Quarterly, 21(1), 174–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×