Public Opinion Quarterly, pp. 1–20 RESEARCH SYNTHESIS THE CHANGING ROLE OF ADDRESS-BASED SAMPLING IN SURVEY RESEARCH

Abstract Address-Based Sampling (ABS) is increasingly viewed as a potential remedy for the rising costs associated with in-person surveys of the U.S. general population, and for the dwindling coverage associated with telephone surveys. For small and moderate-sized surveys, ABS can help make in-person interviewing a viable mode of data collection. For large-scale studies, ABS can enable the transfer of resources from frame development to activities like training for refusal conversion, an exami-nation of total survey error, or a nonresponse follow-up study. A synthesis of research studies estimating ABS coverage for in-person surveys shows nearly complete coverage of the household population in urban areas and varying degrees of undercoverage in rural areas. Less is known about ABS coverage of non-household populations, such as college students living in dormitories or persons residing in other group quarters. This re-search suggests the holistic question: Does the expediency of ABS out-weigh the undercoverage that may accompany its use? The answe