Measurement of Volunteering: A Methodological Study Using Indiana as a Test Case

Abstract

How much does survey methodology matter when measuring volunteering? Every 4 years, the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University conducts a telephone survey (called "Indiana Gives") How do you measure volunteering? It seems to be a straightforward question. But in the United States at least, the most frequently used methods of measuring giving and volunteering-most of which are based on surveys-produce surprisingly disparate results. Most researchers agree that more precise ways of estimating how much time and money people give are needed. This issue is important because many fund-raisers, nonprofit leaders, and public policy makers often use such estimates to understand how much and why people do volunteer work and how and why they donate to charity, as well as to see how Note: The authors would like to thank Paul Schervish, who helped design the overall study, and Brian Vargus and the Public Opinion Laboratory at IUPUI for helping with the data collection. We also would like to acknowledge Richard Steinberg and Mark Wilhelm for their invaluable input. An earlier version of this article was presented at ARNOVA, and we would like to thank the session members for several good suggestions.

The Effects of Race, Gender, and Marital Status on Giving and Volunteering in Indiana

“…Although the results of the current study provide inconclusive results that different groups may respond differently to questions, our findings do indicate that the more prompts or questions asked, the higher the probability of reporting donations and volunteering, and the more dollars donated and hours reported of volunteer activities. This is consistent with recent research on giving and volunteering (e.g., Rooney et al, 2001Rooney et al, , 2004Steinberg et al, 2002). Future research on giving and volunteering needs to take into consideration the type of survey methodology employed-particularly when addressing race and gender issues.…”

“…In developing the different survey methodologies, we replicated central design elements of the most widely cited surveys. The methodologies were based on previous research on giving and volunteering and are well established in the literature (e.g., M. Hall, 2000;Independent Sector, 1999;O'Neill & Roberts, 2000;Rooney et al, 2001;Steinberg et al, 2002). Table 1 is a summary of the survey instruments (modules) and sample information, including the number and type of questions in each module, module classification, the types of prompts, and the sample sizes and refusal rates for each survey.…”

“…Table 1 is a summary of the survey instruments (modules) and sample information, including the number and type of questions in each module, module classification, the types of prompts, and the sample sizes and refusal rates for each survey. The survey methodologies and the dependent variables are described in detail in Rooney et al (2001) and Steinberg et al, (2002).…”

“…Researchers and practitioners have been paying closer attention to the methodology by which giving and volunteering behavior have been measured, mainly because estimates of the amount of philanthropic behavior rely heavily on the methods and measures of each survey (Rooney, Steinberg, & Schervish, 2001, 2004Steinberg, Rooney, & Chin, 2002). Steinberg et al (2002) found that the longer and more detailed the questions asked, the more likely individuals responded that they had volunteered and reported volunteering more hours. Similarly, Rooney et al (2001Rooney et al ( , 2004 found the same pattern of results for giving; the longer the survey and more detailed the prompts, the more likely a household was to recall that it made a charitable contribution, and the higher the average level of its reported giving.…”

Religious and secular giving, by race and ethnicity

“…These groups may not recall or report the full extent of their queried activities in response to memory prompts and questions that speak of donations to nonprofit organizations. Some aspects are explored in a series of papers that look at differences in reported giving and volunteering by type of questionnaire (Rooney, Steinberg, and Schervish, 2001;Steinberg, Rooney, and Chin, 2002;Rooney, Steinberg, and Schervish, 2004), and whether the type of questionnaire matters in the same way to respondents of different races or genders (Mesch, Rooney, Chin, and Steinberg, 2004;Rooney, Mesch, Chin, and Steinberg, forthcoming).…”