Systematic self-selection and sample weight creation in panel surveys: The Puget Sound Transportation Panel case

The Puget Sound Transportation Panel (PSTP) is a survey that contains sampling stages which lessen the sample's representativeness of the Puget Sound region. This paper presents an analysis of survey participation and a method for sample weight creation when systematic self-selection in survey participation can be detected and accounted for. The method uses probability of participation models for selected stages of the survey to first identify determinants of participation and then create sample weights. A variety of weight schemes are thus derived and used to correct for systematic self-selection in panel participation. The performance of these sample weights is tested using as a benchmark sample the Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) from the census of 1990 in the US.