Designated Respondent

Designated respondents are the individuals chosen specifically to be interviewed for a survey. Surveys often are conducted in two stages: first, selecting a sample of household units and, second, selecting persons within the households with whom to speak. Survey researchers' and interviewers' jobs would be easier if they could question the persons first answering the phone or first coming to the door or simply any adult resident in the unit who was willing to talk. This usually is an acceptable idea only if the researchers simply need to know the basic characteristics of the household; however, much of the time researchers need to gather data from one specifically chosen person in the household—that is, translate the sample of units into a sample of individuals. In ...