Panel surveys: Adding the fourth dimension

Abstract

Abstract Surveys across time can serve many objectives. The first half of the paper reviews the abilities of alternative survey designs across time—repeated surveys, panel surveys, rotating panel surveys and split panel surveys—to meet these objectives. The second half concentrates on panel surveys. It discusses the decisions that need to be made in designing a panel survey, the problems of wave non‐response, time‐in‐sample bias and the seam effect and some methods for the longitudinal analysis of panel survey data.