The mode effect of web-based surveying on the 2018 HRS measure of cognitive functioning

Abstract

AbstractMeasuring cognition in an aging population is a public health priority. A move towards survey measurement via the web (as opposed to phone or in-person) is cost effective but challenging as it may induce bias in cognitive measures. We examine this possibility using an experiment embedded in the 2018 wave of data collection for the US Health and Retirement Study (HRS). We find evidence of an increase in scores for HRS respondents who are randomly assigned to the web-based mode of data collection in 2018. Web-based respondents score higher in 2018 than do phone-based respondents, and they show much larger gains relative to 2016 performance and subsequently larger declines in 2020. The bias in favor of web-based responding is observed across all item types, but most pronounced for the serial 7 and items on financial literacy. These results imply a larger threshold for web-based respondents in applications requiring an indicator of cognitive impairment. Implications for both use of HRS data and future survey work on cognition are discussed.