Impact of Dependent Interviewing on Consistency of 

Answers in the American Housing Survey

Katie Gustafson and Evan Brassell

American Housing Survey Branch, Social, Economic & Housing Statistics Division, 

U.S. Census Bureau

Any views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the U.S. Census Bureau.
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• Key source of national data on housing markets, conditions, and dynamics

– Assess and monitor housing adequacy

– Meet a need for up-to-date information on the US housing stock

– Estimates can be made at the national, regional levels, and metro level for a selection of metro areas

• Fully funded by HUD

– AHS estimates are primarily used by HUD to assess the effectiveness of their housing programs 

• Conducted every two years

• Longitudinal survey

– First conducted in 1973

– Previous sample: 1985-2013

– Current sample: 2015-

About the AHS | Dependent Interviewing Overview | Reduced Uninformative Responses with DI | Reduced Discrepant Responses with DI | Conclusion

The American Housing Survey
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About the AHS | Dependent Interviewing Overview | Reduced Uninformative Responses with DI | Reduced Discrepant Responses with DI | Conclusion

• Housing characteristics

– Type of unit, year built, unit size, lot size 

– Housing costs

– Home improvement activities

• Housing quality

– Exterior condition: sagging roof, missing siding, broken windows

– Interior condition: holes in floors, exposed wiring, peeling paint

– Neighborhood quality: vandalism, street conditions

• Equipment 

– Kitchen appliances, heating and cooling systems 

– Sewage disposal method, water source

– Breakdowns in equipment 

• Occupant characteristics

– Demographics 

– Education, income

– Disability status, veteran status

The American Housing Survey – Core Topics
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Dependent Interviewing: The use of prior information about a respondent to modify 

question phrasing or routing in a longitudinal survey. 

Topic Independent (INDI) Question Dependent Interviewing (DI) Question

Cooking Fuel What fuel is used MOST for cooking--electricity, gas or 

something else?

Last time we recorded that your home used kerosene most for 

cooking. Is this information still correct?

Appliances 1. Does your home have a garbage disposal?

2. Does your home have a built-in trash compactor?

3. Does your home have a dishwasher?

4. Does your home have a washing machine?

5. Does your home have a clothes dryer?

Last time we recorded that your home had the following in 

working order: garbage disposal, dishwasher, washing 

machine, clothes dryer.

And that you do not have the following appliances in working 

order: built-in trash compactor. 

Is this information still correct?

Home Purchase When did this household buy the house? (Household is not re-asked this question)

About the AHS | Dependent Interviewing Overview | Reduced Uninformative Responses with DI | Reduced Discrepant Responses with DI | Conclusion
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About the AHS | Dependent Interviewing Overview | Reduced Uninformative Responses with DI | Reduced Discrepant Responses with DI | Conclusion

• Reduces item nonresponse

• Income questions, SIPP (Moore 2006, U.S. Census Bureau Research Report Series)

• ReduIes ┗ariaHility iミ a saマpliミg uミit’s respoミses aIross ┘a┗es

• Spurious change reduced in occupation and industry of employment questions, SIPP (Hill 1994, Journal of Official Statistics)

• Reduces burden

• Interviewer burden reduced, British Household Panel Survey (Sala et al. 2011, Field Methods)

• Labor market activity reporting time shortened, European Community Household Panel Survey (Jackle 2008, Journal of Official 

Statistics)

Effects of dependent interviewing observed in other surveys
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About the AHS | Dependent Interviewing Overview | Reduced Uninformative Responses with DI | Reduced Discrepant Responses with DI | Conclusion

Effects of dependent interviewing in the AHS

• Reduces item nonresponse

• DeIreased iteマ uミiミforマati┗e ふさI doミ’t kミo┘ざ or refusalぶ respoミse perIeミtages

• ReduIes ┗ariaHility iミ a saマpliミg uミit’s respoミses aIross ┘a┗es

• literature)

• Reduces burden

• (example from literature)
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The AHS Bridge Sample

About the AHS | Dependent Interviewing Overview | Reduced Uninformative Responses with DI | Reduced Discrepant Responses with DI | Conclusion

Dependent interviewing and item nonresponse in the AHS
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About the AHS | Dependent Interviewing Overview | Reduced Uninformative Responses with DI | Reduced Discrepant Responses with DI | Conclusion

Question on water source (2013-2015)

Wave DI/INDI Question Percentage Uninformative,

Bridge Sample

2013 DI Last time we recorded that most of your water came from a public or private 

water system. Is this information still correct?

0.02

INDI Does most of the water for your home come from a water system, either public or 

private, from an individual well, or from some other source?

2015 INDI Does most of the water for your home come from a water system, either public or 

private, from an individual well, or from some other source?

0.04

2015

Informative Uninformative Total

2013 Informative 3881 17 3898

Uninformative 8 0 8

Total 3889 17 3906

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey, 2013-2015. 

Dependent interviewing and item nonresponse in the AHS
9 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey, 2013-2015. 

Chaミge iミ PerIeミtage Uミiミforマati┗e for Questioミs iミ ヲヰヱン aミd ヲヰヱ5 Ha┗iミg ≥ヲ5 Respoミdeミts iミ Bridge “aマple 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey, 2013-2015. 

About the AHS | Dependent Interviewing Overview | Reduced Uninformative Responses with DI | Reduced Discrepant Responses with DI | Conclusion

Dependent interviewing and item nonresponse in the AHS Percentage
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About the AHS | Dependent Interviewing Overview | Reduced Uninformative Responses with DI | Reduced Discrepant Responses with DI | Conclusion

95% CI of Difference in Percentage Uninformative for Questioミs iミ ヲヰヱン aミd ヲヰヱ5 Ha┗iミg ≥ヲ5 Respoミdeミts iミ Bridge “aマple 

Dependent interviewing and item nonresponse in the AHS

2013 Question 

Type

2015 Percentage Uninformative Total

Decreased No Change Increased

INDI 11 82 0 93

DI 0 39 12 51

Total 11 121 12 144

10

20

0

-10

-20

Percentage

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey, 2013-2015. 
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n = 32,141. Percentages are unweighted. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing 

Survey, 2007-2009.

Year Built Values Reported in 2007 and 2009 Percentage

2007 and 2009 decade values match 55.1

2007 and 2009 decade values do not match 45.0

Different value provided in 2009 33.5

さDoミ’t kミo┘ざ iミ ヲ009 10.7

Missing in 2009 0.8

About the AHS | Dependent Interviewing Overview | Reduced Uninformative Responses with DI | Reduced Discrepant Responses with DI | Conclusion

Ideally we ask only once, when the housing unit is new to the sample.

But we also ask under these circumstances:

• No year value is recorded for the housing unit that has been 

surveyed previously

• Tenure of the housing unit changes from renter to owner

• An interview was not completed for the housing unit in the 

previous wave

さWhat year ┘as your hoマe Huilt?ざ

Dependent interviewing and discrepant responses in the AHS
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About the AHS | Dependent Interviewing Overview | Reduced Uninformative Responses with DI | Reduced Discrepant Responses with DI | Conclusion

n = 32,141. Percentages are unweighted. Source: U.S. Census 

Bureau, American Housing Survey, 2007-2009.

Dependent interviewing and discrepant responses in the AHS
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About the AHS | Dependent Interviewing Overview | Reduced Uninformative Responses with DI | Reduced Discrepant Responses with DI | Conclusion

n = 28,686. Percentages are unweighted. Source: U.S. Census 

Bureau, American Housing Survey, 2007-2009.

Dependent interviewing and discrepant responses in the AHS
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About the AHS | Dependent Interviewing Overview | Reduced Uninformative Responses with DI | Reduced Discrepant Responses with DI | Conclusion

Wave 2009 2011 2013

Question for 

returning respondents

How many bedrooms 

are there in your 

home?

How many bedrooms 

are there in your 

home?

Last time we recorded 

there were 2 bedrooms 

in your home. Is that 

still correct?

Example responses

Respondent A さヲざ さヲざ さYesざ

Respondent B さンざ さヲざ さNo, it’s ンざ

Respondent C ざンざ さヲざ さYesざ

Percentage responses 

discrepant with 

previous wave

14.6 5.3

Room Type Counts: Number of Bedrooms

さHo┘ many bedrooms are there in your home?ざ

n = 27,988. Percentages are unweighted. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey, 2009-2013. 

Dependent interviewing and discrepant responses in the AHS
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About the AHS | Dependent Interviewing Overview | Reduced Uninformative Responses with DI | Reduced Discrepant Responses with DI | Conclusion

Room Type Count Responses Discrepant Between Adjacent Waves, 2009-2013

Count of cases per room type ranged from 10,418 to 28,047. Percentages are 

unweighted. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey, 2009-2013. 

Dependent interviewing and discrepant responses in the AHS
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About the AHS | Dependent Interviewing Overview | Reduced Uninformative Responses with DI | Reduced Discrepant Responses with DI | Conclusion

Response Variable Explanatory Variables Odds Ratio Estimate (95% CI) Fixed Effect Significance Test 

P-Value

Answer was discrepant 

with answer from 

previous wave

Tenure

Renter

Owner

0.6 (0.49,0.75)

.

<0.0001

Structure type

Single unit detached

Single unit attached

Multiunit building 

Manufactured/mobile home

.

1.05 (0.76, 1.46)

1.23 (0.98, 1.54)

0.59 (0.38, 0.91)

0.0167

Fuel question asked

Main cooking fuel

Clothes dryer fuel

Main heating fuel

Water heater fuel

.

1.46 (1.16, 1.85)

3.05 (2.52, 3.69)

2.72 (2.42, 3.30)

<0.0001

Respondent was asked the 

independent question

41.3 (25.5, 66.8) <0.0001

Longitudinal model of probability of a discrepant answer

Data: 2011-2015 fuel type responses from bridge sample (n=3,151)

Dependent interviewing and discrepant responses in the AHS
Response Variable Explanatory Variables Odds Ratio Estimate (95% CI) Fixed Effect Significance Test 

P-Value

Answer was discrepant 

with answer from 

previous wave

Tenure

Renter

Owner

.

0.6 (0.49,0.75)

<0.0001

Structure type

Single unit detached

Single unit attached

Multiunit building 

Manufactured/mobile home

.

1.05 (0.76, 1.46)

1.23 (0.98, 1.54)

0.59 (0.38, 0.91)

0.0167

Fuel question asked

Main cooking fuel

Clothes dryer fuel

Main heating fuel

Water heater fuel

.

1.46 (1.16, 1.85)

3.05 (2.52, 3.69)

2.72 (2.42, 3.30)

<0.0001

Respondent was asked the 

independent question

41.3 (25.5, 66.8) <0.0001

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About the AHS | Dependent Interviewing Overview | Reduced Uninformative Responses with DI | Reduced Discrepant Responses with DI | Conclusion

Longitudinal model of probability of a discrepant answer

Data: 2011-2015 fuel type responses from bridge sample (n=3,151)

Dependent interviewing and discrepant responses in the AHS

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey, 2011-2015. 
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Open questions 

• Does dependent interviewing 

lead to biased responses for 

some questions in the AHS?

• Is the effect of dependent 

interviewing modulated by 

whether a different household is 

responding in the subsequent 

wave? A different respondent in 

the same household?

• Might other factors contribute to 

the apparent extreme influence 

of dependent interviewing on 

probability of a discrepant 

answer?

About the AHS | Dependent Interviewing Overview | Reduced Uninformative Responses with DI | Reduced Discrepant Responses with DI | Conclusion

Dependent interviewing in the AHS

Reduces item nonresponse

Re-asking the year built question yielded 45% respoミses disIrepaミt ... 

... aミd respoミses ┘ere oミ a┗erage uミHiased.

Adding dependency to the room type count questions decreased 

discrepant responses.

The probability of a discrepant answer was predicted to decrease with 

dependent interviewing, for four fuel type questions.

Making dependent interviewing questions independent 

increased their uninformative response percentages.

ReduIes ┗ariaHility iミ a uミit’s respoミses aIross waves