Data on lifecycle events are difficult and expensive to collect using (pseudo-) panels. Retrospective surveys which asked respondents to recall events, may constitute a valuable alternative. This paper reports on our experiences with the design and implementation of an Internet-based retrospective survey. Because the value of retrospective surveys will depend on the salience of the events, influencing the memory trace and retrievability of the event, a statistical analysis was conducted to examine the effect of age, cohort and time elapsed between event occurrence and event reporting. Results suggest that although retrospective surveys are not error-free, respondents' ability to recall major lifecycle events and report some of their key attributes is satisfactory. These findings imply that retrospective surveys constitute a valuable and cheap alternative to collecting data on the sequence of lifetrajectory events.
Samenvatting