MEMO128 1977 Sibling Study Tracing Procedures SEARCH FOR THE SIBLINGS: TRACING PROCEDURES The objective of this search was to locate the telephone numbers and addresses for the 2,427 subjects chosen to be interviewed in the 1977 Sewell-Hauser Sibling Study. Tracing the location of the siblings chosen consisted of the following three procedures, the third procedure being the main thrust of the search: 1) a review of the 1975 interview; 2) a preliminary search, using information obtained from these 1975 interviews; and 3) a telephone search, which included contacting secondary sources who might be of help in locating the subjects Review of the 1975 Interviews The 1975 interviews of the original respondents were reviewed to determine if the siblings chosen could or could not be contacted. There was to be no contact with the sibling if: a) the 1975 respondent refused to give information about the sibling or requested that no relatives be contacted for further information; b) the sibling was ill, retarded, or living outside the continental United States; or c) the sibling was part of the 1975 sample and had been interviewed at that time. Of the 2,427 subjects chosen, a portion were eliminated at this stage for fulfilling at least one of the above criteria. Preliminary Search For the 1975 interviews from which siblings could be contacted, cover sheets were printed with the name and address of the sibling, parent, and original respondent, and the name and city of the original respondent's high school. In the cases where these data were complete, the next step was to obtain the sibling's telephone number from an information operator. The operator for the city listed in the sibling's address was contacted and the telephone number obtained was assumed to be correct. This information was then sent to the Survey Lab if: a) the first name, last name, and address we listed coincided with the operator's information (for all siblings); b) the last name and address coincided with the operator's information (for married female siblings); and c) the first and last name were the same but the address differed (providing it was in the same city with a population of approximately 10,000 or less), and/or when the last and/or first name was not particularly common. In this preliminary method of search the sibling was not contacted to verify that he/she was the correct individual, or to verify that we had the correct telephone number. Three to four hundred cases were returned to us from the Survey Lab as being incorrect. In many instances, the telephone number obtained from the operator was either copied incorrectly or the information was incorrect. For the most part, these cases were corrected by recontacting the information operator. However, in most cases the information required on the cover sheets was incomplete, incorrect, or outdated (e.g., parents had died or relocated since the 1975 study; there was no first and/or last name and/or no address for the sibling; information was miscopied or names were misspelled), and these were not sent to the Survey Lab. Contact records for these problem cases were made, consisting of sheets on which were recorded all individuals who would need to be contacted during the search. The few remaining cases with incorrect information which were returned to us from the Survey Lab were then joined to this larger group of problem cases on which the third search procedure described below was employed. Telephone Search This procedure formed the main body of the search. Along with the sibling's telephone number, telephone numbers for parents, for people living in the same city with the same last name (possible relatives) and for individuals living in cities near to the address listed for the sibling having the same name as the sibling (either a possible relative or the sibling) were obtained from the information operator. Having obtained this data, the next step was to contact these various sources who might have information about the sibling. Parents were contacted for information about their son or daughter. This contact was based on either the telephone number listed with parents' address (from the 1975 interviews) or the telephone number obtained from the information operator. Telephone numbers of siblings obtained from parents were assumed to be correct and sent to the Survey Lab. The following three problems were most often encountered in making contact with parents: 1) parents were deceased; 2) they had relocated; or 3) they were suspicious and/or uncooperative. Individuals in nearby cities with the same first and last name as the sibling were contacted. Individuals with the same last name in the city where a sibling either lived in 1975 or attended high school were also considered as sources for information. They were contacted on the basis of possibly being a relative or sibling. Commonality of last name and size of city were taken into account as limiting factors. Often relatives recommended other individuals to contact as sources for information. The 1975 interview of the original respondent was also reviewed to determine a sibling's occupation and, in some instances, employer. City directories and telephone books were consulted for possible and real employers to be contacted. In some cases, parents' employers were called. In cases where parents and siblings were determined to be no longer living in the city listed in 1975, post offices were contacted for information. In similar instances, city halls were used as a further source of location. This was done only for cities with less than a population of 10,000. When all other leads had been exhausted, three other sources were utilized. If the sibling was determined to have been in the military in 1975, the military locators in Washington, D. C. were consulted. Similarly, when a sibling had been attending a college or university in 1975, an alumni association and the school the sibling had attended were contacted. Finally, as a last source, information for large cities, in particular Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles, was consulted. To avoid prejudicing any subjects in the sample, the original 1975 respondent was called only after all other sources had been followed up and in those particular cases where the sibling had an unlisted telephone number. Letters were sent in cases where no one would provide an unlisted telephone number of a sibling. A letter was sent to the sibling at the 1975 address or to an address found in a current city directory or provided by a relative. City directories and telephone books, from which we obtained the following data, were found at the library: 1) wife's name 2) parents' and sib's occupations and employers 3) addresses for sibling, parent and/or neighbor. 4) neighbor's telephone number 5) correct spelling of names and street addresses. Data and Preliminary Results After Search A. Letters sent N = 59 Responses 17 Unable to be forwarded 4 B. The Sample Male-Male (Respondent-Sib) 1039 Male-Female 345 Female-Female 1043 Female-Male 349 Twins 71 Total 2847 2847 was determined to be too large a sample and 428 siblings were randomly selected out. Any twins that were selected out in the 428 were added to the twin series. The new sample: Male-Male 879 Male-Female 291 Female-Female 882 Female-Male 296 Twins 79 Total 2427 C. Interviews never sent to the Survey Lab due to results of telephone search: N In 1975 interview 13 1975 R refused 36 Sibling refused 16 Handicapped, ill 12 Deceased 8 Out of U.S.A. 45 No telephone* 36 Not found 34 Unpublished telephone" 13 Total 213 Sent to the Survey Lab (2427 - 213 =): 2214(91.2 percent) *All "no telephones" are tallied on the basis of information provided by at least one relative and verified through the telephone directory as "no listing." **Unpublished telephones are listed with the directory as unpublished phone. Addresses for such numbers are listed in the directory and were used for verifying. 1977 SIBLING STUDY - FINAL TALLY Originally Supplementary Possible to Series Assigned Sample Interview 0 (RF-SF) 1043 161 882 1 (RM-SM 1039 160 879 2 (RF-SM) 349 53 296 3 (RM-SF) 345 54 291 Twins 83* 2** 81 2429 COR 281 TOTAL 1977 1975 ON SIB Interview Interview TAPE % 776 8 784 88.9 748 3 751 85.4 254 1 255 86.1 263 0 263 90.4 67 4 71 87.7 2108 16 2124 87.4 *Four sets of twins that were also 1975 respondents fell only in series 4. According to COR 281, one of the pair was chosen to be added to the tape and the old N of 79 was increased by these 4 cases when COR 281 was completed. **Two sets of twins that were also 1975 respondents had only one of the members in strata 4. Only the two that fell in strata 0-3 were added to the tape in COR 281; therefore the respective members in strata 4 were dropped. NON-RESPONDENTS - 1977 SIBLING STUDY - FINAL TALLY Unpublished No Series Refusals Telephone Telephone 0 37 8 8 1 37 2 21 2 23 3 3 3 9 3 Twins 4 1 TOTALS 110 13 36 Outside Handicapped Survey Series or Ill Deceased Boundaries 0 3 2 16 1 4 6 22 2 2 1 1 3 3 4 Twins 1 2 TOTALS 13 9 45 Sib Not Reachable Not '75 R Request For Duration Series Found Not Interview Sib Of Survey TOTAL 0 8 16 0 98 1 17 14 5 128 2 6 2 0 41 3 6 3 0 28 4 1 1 0 10 TOTALS 38 36 5 305