Generations and Gender Survey Italy Wave 1 & Wave 2

WAVE 1 Method: Face-to-Face (personal interview) + self-administered questionnaire. Technique: Paper and Pencil.

WAVE 2 Method: Telephone interview Technique: CATI

WAVE 1 ACTIONS

1. Dealing with nonresponse 1.1 Screening: Availability to participate to subsequent surveys was asked. 1.2 Refusal conversion: Usual techniques of refusal conversion (an advance letter by Istat was sent to the selected households). 1.3 Incentives: No.

2. Tracking of sampled units 2.1 Respondent contact information: Yes, contact details of the respondent were collected such us: addresses, home telephone number and mobile number of each family member. 2.2 Other contact information: Yes, contact information of each family member. 2.3 Cards: On-line thank-you letter was sent showing the main results of the survey on www.istat.it. 2.4 Additional surveys: No 2.5 Administrative records: For records without a telephone number, Istat asked to the municipality to provide information about their possible change in residential address in order to track them elsewhere.

WAVE 2 ACTIONS

1. Dealing with nonresponse 1.1 Screening: At first it was asked whether the respondent named … was at home and available to be interviewed. 1.2 Refusal conversion: 1.3 Incentives: No incentives

2. Tracking of sampled units 2.1 Respondent contact information: Yes 2.2 Other contact information: No, but the information about the family was used to ask about him/her in order to minimize attrition. 2.3 Cards: No, but the report of the survey was disseminated on the web site. 2.4 Additional surveys: No 2.5 Administrative records: Yes, especially to look for individuals who moved from the household in wave1.

WAVE 1 DATA COLLECTION

1. Interviewers 1.1 Total number of interviewers: 1,645. 1.2 Number of interviewers in the field: 1,645. 1.3 Network organization: 22 regional coordinators. 1.4 Working arrangement of interviewers: Istat makes use of the Municipal Council networks for selecting interviewers, responding to the criteria defined by Istat. Interviewers are mainly employees of the municipal office itself, but also students and others part-time workers. The interviewers belong to a list of household surveys' interviewers that is regionally and centrally monitored. The archive of interviewers is centrally supervised and collects information about interviewers' performances along their past experiences. 1.5 Payment of interviewers: Interviewers were paid per successful interview. Moreover, they received a reimbursement for training and transmission of quality information.

2. Interviewer training 2.1 General interviewing: There were instruction meetings in each province, run by Istat regional offices, held with the interviewers from the sampled municipalities (first step training). Istat regional offices were, in turn, trained by the Istat central office (second step training). 2.2 Survey specific: Yes. General information about the Programme was presented. 2.3 Length: The first step training (Istat central office to regional offices) took two days. The second step training took one day and documentation and slides were disseminated. At the end of the training meetings, a form was filled in collecting the participants' assessments. 2.4 Control of performance: Respondents were randomly recontacted to ascertain the occurred interview. There were two attempts to evaluate each interviewer and in case of false interview all families of the same interviewer were contacted. Only a small portion, less than 4% of the interviews, was considered irregular. Moreover, Istat checked the questionnaires in order to evaluate their quality. 2.5 Interviewer survey: No.

3. Contact protocols 3.1 Advance letter: In order to limit the refusal rate Istat send a letter, before starting up the survey. The letter informed families about the interview and aimed at stimulating the interest of the respondents, explaining the reasons why their collaboration is important, reassuring people about their most common fears and allowing them to understand the expected goals and results. 3.2 Cold contacts: Telephone. 3.3 Scheduling / scattering: The interviewer organized the contacts by him/herself. 3.4 Contact history: No. 3.5 Min number of contacts: No. 2.6 Max number of contacts: No.

4. Questionnaire localization 4.1 Validation: No. 4.2 Pre-test: No. However, the survey was previously conducted in 1998 on an independent sample and, in that case, a pilot study was performed. New questions pertaining to GGS were tested independently. 4.3 Length of interview: Average length of interview per household: 70 minutes.

WAVE 2 DATA COLLECTION

1. Interviewers 1.1 Total number of interviewers: about 20 interviewers, scheduled in 3 groups per day 1.2 Number of interviewers in the field: 1.3 Network organization: centralized 1.4 Working arrangement of interviewers: Fully employed and Contracted - other 1.5 Payment of interviewers: Per interview

2. Interviewer training 2.1 General interviewing: Yes, interviewers were trained about general interviewing technique especially to focus on the follow-up conditions and to the aim of the survey. They were trained by Istat researchers. They have experience on survey interviews because most of them had already worked for Istat. 2.2 Survey specific: Yes, interviewers were also trained about GGS issues. Generally speaking, they received briefing from Istat researcher with PowerPoint presentations. A FAQ document was also prepared to support them. After the training and some tests of interview, there was also a de-briefing. 2.3 Length: Two days 2.4 Control of performance: Yes, Istat personnel and researchers supervised the fieldwork to support and monitor the adequacy of the interviews. 2.5 Interviewer survey: Not a survey, but de-briefings were organized to clarify doubts and provide general aid. Moreover, the monitoring system allow to link interviewer performances to contacts and valid interviews.

3. Contact protocols 3.1 Advance letter: Yes, an advance letter was sent to all sampled individuals. It expresses acknowledgment for the participation in wave1, it explains the aim of the follow-up survey, the relevance for the study of generations and gender, it informs about the protection of personal data and it provides contact information and a toll-free number where to ask for further information. The letter is signed by the President of Istat. 3.2 Cold contacts: 3.3 Scheduling / scattering: Yes, the scheduling procedure distinguishes between morning, afternoon and evening. Moreover, an appointment could be fixed with respondents any day of the week, included on Saturdays and Sundays. 3.4 Contact history: Yes, there was the so-called "Scheda contatti" 3.5 Min number of contacts: 2.6 Max number of contacts: Yes, 11.

4. Questionnaire localization 4.1 Validation: No re-translation was done 4.2 Pre-test: Yes, normal survey route. Moreover the questionnaire was also tested on part of the available sample. 4.3 Length of interview: Average duration about 1 hour.

In case the respondent was busy or not available, we attempted to agree upon a new appointment. Also if the respondent was unavailable to answer to the landline, we offered the possibility to call him/her back on the mobile.