DOI: 10.3886/icpsr37629.v2
title: Survey of American Family Finances, [United States], 2014-2015
title: Version 2

description: The Survey of American Family Finances was a project of the Pew Charitable Trusts' economic mobility project and financial security and mobility project, with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. It was administered in two waves during 2014 and 2015 to a nationally representative sample of adults who are the financial decision makers in their households by GfK's KnowledgePanel. The survey measures details of family finances, including assets, income, expenditures, and debt. Pew used the survey to study the impact of financial shocks, educational debt, housing costs, and the racial wealth gap - among other factors - on financial security. Demographic data, such as race and citizenship, was also collected.
description: The weighting process for this survey essentially entailed three major steps. In the first step, base/design weights were computed to reflect selection probabilities, while in the second step, base weights were adjusted so that the resulting final weights aggregate to reported totals for the target population. In the third step, computed weights were examined to detect any extreme values that could unduly inflate variances of survey estimates. This survey included a random general population sample of all adults, supplemented with two augment samples of African Americans and Hispanics. Once the study sample was selected and fielded and all survey data were edited and made final, design weights were computed to reflect the design imposed oversampling of African Americans and Hispanics and then adjusted to correct for survey nonresponse. For this purpose, final weights were computed using the method of Iterative Proportional Fitting, which is commonly referred to as Raking. Specifically, design weights were simultaneously adjusted to the benchmarks of adults 18 or older while controlling demographic compositions separately for African Americans, Hispanics, and all other adults. The needed demographic benchmarks were obtained from the March 2014 Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS). These benchmarks, distributions of which are summarized at the end, were indexed by as follows: Gender (Male/Female) by Age (18-29, 30-44, 45-59, and 60+) Race/Hispanic ethnicity (White/Non-Hispanic, Black/Non-Hispanic, Other/Non-Hispanic, 2+ Races/Non-Hispanic, Hispanic) Hispanic Origin (Non-Hispanic, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, All Other Hispanic Origins) Primary Language (Non-Hispanic, English Proficient Hispanic, Bilingual Hispanic, Spanish Proficient Hispanic) Education (Less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor and beyond) Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West Metropolitan Area (Yes, No) Household income (under $25k, $25K to &lt;$50k, $50K to &lt;$75k, $75K+) Internet Access (Yes, No) In the final step, calculated weights were examined to identify and trim outliers at the extreme upper and lower tails of the weight distribution. The resulting weights were then scaled to sum to the total number of completed interviews. As such, two sets of weights were generated, one for all respondents (n = 8,882) and one for all qualified respondents (n = 7,845). Primary language benchmarks were obtained from the 2010-2012 Pew Hispanic Survey. Internet access benchmarks were obtained from the October 2012 Supplement of the CPS.
description: Response Rates: In 2014, the entire KnowledgePanel sample was eligible for inclusion in the study: 16,509 panelists were invited to participate, 8,895 households at least began the survey, and 7,845 households completed it; the final study completion rate, as calculated by GfK, was 53.9 percent. The cumulative response rate for 2014, based on participation in the KnowledgePanel and the study completion rate, was 4.6 percent. Those who completed the 2014 survey were invited to take part in 2015, and 72 percent completed the second survey. The overall cumulative response rate for 2015 was 3.3 percent.
description: Respondents included in both survey waves were selected from GfK's KnowledgePanel. The baseline survey in 2014 included 7,845 respondents, aged 18 and older, who identified themselves as being either the sole or one of the main financial decision-makers in their household. The survey included oversamples of black and Hispanic respondents, with 1,505 and 1,502 total cases for each of these groups, respectively. The survey was conducted in English and Spanish, with 6 percent of the interviews completed in Spanish. The re-interview survey in 2015 included a total sample of 5,661 respondents, ages 18 and older, who identified themselves as a financial decision-maker in their household and had completed the 2014 survey. In 2015, the sample included 1,043 Hispanic and 641 black respondents. 3.3 percent of the 2015 interviews were completed in Spanish. KnowledgePanel is a nationally representative online research sample in the United States, with members recruited using probability selection methods and contacted through a combination of random digit dialing and address-based sampling methodologies. Accordingly, the sample includes households with unlisted phone numbers, landlines, and cellphones, and well as those without phones. Some members had internet access, and KnowledgePanel provided those who did not with a device that made access possible. KnowledgePanel recruits new members throughout the year to offset attrition.
description: Datasets: DS0: Study-Level Files DS1: Wave 1 Data for Public-Use DS2: Wave 1 Data for Restricted-Use DS3: Wave 2 Data for Public-Use DS4: Wave 2 Data for Restricted-Use
description: US adults who consider themselves the financial decision-makers in their families.
description: web-based surveyTo protect respondent anonymity, potentially identifying string variables and specific geographic variables have been masked in all data files. In addition, many household finance variables have been topcoded in the public version of the data, but raw values are available in the restricted access version of the data.