What is Respondent Driven Sampling ?
Respondent-driven
sampling (RDS),
combines "snowball sampling" with a mathematical model that weights the
sample
to compensate for the fact that the sample was collected in a
non-random way. More.
Data Requirements for RDS Analysis
While
data requirements for RDS
analysis are minimal, there are three pieces of information which are
essential
for analysis (RDS analysis CANNOT BE PERFORMED without these fields for
each
respondent):
- Personal Network Size (Degree) - Number of people the
respondent knows within the target population.
- Respondent's Serial Number - Serial number of the coupon
the respondent was recruited with.
- Respondent's Recruiting Serial Numbers - Serial numbers
from the coupons the respondent is given to recruit others.
References
Respondent-Driven
Sampling References
Peer-Driven
Intervention References
Core RDS References:
- Heckathorn, Douglas D. 1997."
Respondent-Driven Sampling: A New Approach to the Study of Hidden
Populations." Social Problems.
- The original article in which RDS was introduced
- Heckathorn, Douglas D. 2002."
Respondent-Driven Sampling II: Deriving Valid Population Estimates from
Chain-Referral Samples of Hidden Populations."
Social Problems.
- Article extending the RDS method to include calculation
of standard errors and post-stratification to control for differences
in network size and clustering across groups
- Salganik, Matthew J. and Douglas D. Heckathorn. 2004." Sampling
and Estimation in Hidden Populations Using Respondent-Driven Sampling."
Sociological Methodology.
- Article showing through both analytic means and
simulations that the RDS population estimator is statistically unbiased
- Outstanding Article Publication Award of
the Mathematical Sociology Section of the American Sociological
Association
- Heckathorn, Douglas D. 2007."
Extensions of Respondent-Driven Sampling: Analyzing Continuous
Variables and Controlling for Differential Recruitment."
Sociological Methodology.
- Wejnert, Cyprian and Douglas D. Heckathorn. 2008. "Web-Based
Network Sampling: Efficiency and Efficancy of Respondent-Driven
Sampling for Online Research." Sociological Methods
and Research.
- This Article presents WebRDS as an online sampling
method, compares RDS estimates to institutional data, and provides a
test of several assumptions associated with RDS.
- Volz, Erik and Douglas D. Heckathorn. 2008. "Probability
Based Estimation Theory for Respondent-Driven Sampling." Journal
of Official Statistics.
- This paper introduces the RDS II estimator.
- Wejnert, Cyprian. 2009. "An
Empirical Test of Respondent-Driven Sampling: Point Estimates,
Variance, Degree Measures, and Out-of-Equilibrium Data."
forthcoming: Sociological Methodology.
Downloads
In order to help the community take
advantage of the Respondent Driven Sampling methodology, we have
developed a
software package capable of analysing RDS data sets. The Respondent
Driven
Sampling Analysis Tool (RDSAT) includes the following features:
- Estimation of important population parameters such as
- Population proportions of user defined groups
- Average personal network sizes
- Measures of statistical significance for population
estimates
- Data display and editing
- Export of analysis results to formatted html
- Data visualization and graphics
- Analysis of groups defined by a breakpoint of a continuous
variable
Documentation for RDSAT:
About RDSAT:
- How to Cite
RDSAT:
- Volz, E.; Wejnert, C.; Cameron, C.; Spiller, M.; Barash, V.;
Degani, I.; and Heckathorn, D.D. 2012. Respondent-Driven Sampling
Analysis Tool (RDSAT) Version 7.1. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University.
RDSAT Download Options:
RDSAT v7.1 Beta is now
available for Windows 32-bit, and Windows 64-bit, Mac, Unix, and Linux
operating
systems. There are several download options,
depending on your operating system, and system configuration.
RDSAT was
developed in JAVA, and can be run on any machine which has a JAVA
Runtime
Environment installed on it. For users who have a recent
JAVA Runtime
Environment (v.1.4 or greater), you may download option #1 below. If
you do not
have the JAVA Runtime Environment, you have two options: Get the latest
JAVA RE
from http://java.com/en/download/manual.jsp,
and then download option #1 below. Or, you may download option #2
below, which
includes a JAVA runtime; note that option#2 is a much larger file.
Windows users: If you aready
have an earlier version of RDSAT,
use
Option#1.
Legacy Versions of RDSAT
RDSAT
6.0 Beta integrated new analytical methods
presented in Heckathorn
(2007).
RDSAT
5.6 offered analytical methods presented in Salganik
and Heckathorn
(2004).
RDS Coupon Manager:
The Respondent Driven Sampling Coupon Manager
(RDSCM) provides a convenient way to keep track of coupons numbers and
respondent compensation.
- Default password for RDSCM is "password" (all lowercase)
- RDSCM is available six languages: English, Russian,
Spanish, French, Chinese, and Greek.
Download RDSCM (now compatible with Windows 7!):
Contact:
Douglas Heckathorn is the originator
of Respondent Driven Sampling. He can be reached at:
Department of Sociology
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14850
Email:
douglas.heckathorn@cornell.edu
Fax:
607.255.8473
Voice: 607.255.4368
Internet: http://www.soc.cornell.edu/faculty/heckathorn.shtm
Document
last updated: 12/19/12