Some estimates of the reliability of survey data on family planning

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Abstract
An opportunity to estimate the reliability of survey data on family planning is afforded by a longitudinal study of fertility in metropolitan areas of the United States. A probability sample of mothers was interviewed six months after the birth of their second child. Data were collected on a number of pregnancies, use of contraception, methods used, and the planning status of each pregnancy, in addition to a wide variety of social and psychological characteristics. Three years after the first interview, the same women were interviewed again and identical questions were asked about the same pregnancies. This paper reports an analysis of the consistency of responses in the basic fertility and contraceptive histories. Given the simplicity of the pregnancy histories, the relatively sophisticated sample interviewed, and the intensive preparation of the research, the reliabilities of data on family planning estimated here are assumed to approximate to an upper limit for such data at the present stage of development of survey techniques. Some suggestions for possible future improvement are included.

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