Williams, Nathalie E., Arland Thornton, Dirgha J. Ghimire, and Linda Young-DeMarco. 2011. “Nepali Migrants to the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: Values, Behaviors, and Plans.” Pp. 155-185 in Migrant Labour in the Persian Gulf, edited by M. Kamrava and Z. Babar. New York: Columbia University Press.
Nepali Migrants to the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: Values, Behaviors, and Plans
Responsive Survey Design, Demographic Data Collection, and Models of Demographic Behavior
Publication Abstract
Axinn, William G., Cynthia F. Link, and Robert M. Groves. 2011. “Responsive Survey Design, Demographic Data Collection, and Models of Demographic Behavior.” Demography 48(3):1127-1149.
To address declining response rates and rising data-collection costs, survey methodologists have devised new techniques for using process data (“paradata”) to address nonresponse by altering the survey design dynamically during data collection. We investigate the substantive consequences of responsive survey design-tools that use paradata to improve the representative qualities of surveys and control costs. By improving representation of reluctant respondents, responsive design can change our understanding of the topic being studied. Using the National Survey of Family Growth Cycle 6, we illustrate how responsive survey design can shape both demographic estimates and models of demographic behaviors based on survey data. By juxtaposing measures from regular and responsive data collection phases, we document how special efforts to interview reluctant respondents may affect demographic estimates. Results demonstrate the potential of responsive survey design to change the quality of demographic research based on survey data
DOI: 10.1007/s13524-011-0044-1
PMCID: PMC Journal in Process
Gender Double Standards in Parenting Attitudes
Publication Abstract
Axinn, William G., Linda Young-DeMarco, and Messo Caponi Roe. 2011. “Gender Double Standards in Parenting Attitudes.” Social Science Research 40(2):417-432.
This paper investigates the double standard in attitudes toward courtship and family formation behaviors of sons and daughters. We argue there are strong theoretical reasons to expect that the magnitude of this double standard varies across substantive domains, as well as amongst parents and non-parents. We also argue key methodological limitations of previous studies likely produce an under-estimate of the gender double standard. We provide empirical estimates of the gender double standard that overcome these limitations, including a random assignment experiment explicitly designed to control the effects of social desirability. These estimates demonstrate variability in the double standard across domains and reveal key factors contributing to the magnitude of the double standards in parenting attitudes held by individuals.
DOI: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2010.08.010
PMCID: PMC3035381
Social Organization, Population, and Land Use
Publication Abstract
Axinn, William G., and Dirgha J. Ghimire. 2011. “Social Organization, Population, and Land Use.” American Journal of Sociology 117(1):209-258.
A new approach to investigation of human influences on the environment identifies social organization as an influence independent of population size, affluence, and technology. The framework also identifies population events, such as births, that influence the environment. The authors use longitudinal, multilevel, mixed-method measures of local land use changes, population dynamics, and social organization to test this framework. These tests reveal that changes in social organization are strongly associated with changes in land use independent of measures of population size, affluence, and technology. Also, local birth events shape local land use changes and key proximate determinants of land use change.
PMCID: PMC3162250