Der Band zeigt aktuelle Entwicklungen und greift familien- sowie paarsoziologische Diskurse und Kontroversen auf. Er informiert über Familienrealitäten, Geschlechterverhältnisse, Leitbildwandel und Alltagspraxen in Familie und Paar. Die Beiträge bieten dem Fachpublikum sowie Studierenden Überblick über den aktuellen Diskussionsstand und laden ein zur vertiefenden (Eigen-)Forschung. (Buchinhalt, Verlagstext)
This paper examines the reliability of biographical information gathered retrospectively. It draws on data from the German Family Panel (pairfam), which collected information on the partnership status at first birth using two different strategies. The first strategy was to collect partnership and fertility histories separately in an event history calendar. The second strategy was to ask the respondents directly about their partnership status at first childbirth. We find that in almost 20 percent of the cases, the information collected using the two different strategies did not correspond. The dissolution of a partnership and having a complex partnership biography are strong predictors for discrepancies in the information gathered through the two different strategies. We conclude by discussing the factors that lead to the different outcomes produced by each of the two methods, and the implications of these discrepancies for the study of partnership and fertility behavior in general.
This paper examines the reliability of biographical information gathered retrospectively. It draws on data from the German Family Panel (pairfam), which collected information on the partnership status at first birth using two different methods. The first method is based on data on partnership and fertility histories collected retrospectively. The second method uses data gathered through the use of a “landmark question” on the respondents’ partnership status when their first children were born. We find that in almost 20 percent of the cases, the information collected using the first method did not correspond with the information collected using the second method. Partnership dissolution and “turbulence” in the partnership biography are strong predictors for discrepancies in the information gathered through the two different survey methods. We conclude by drawing attention to the limitations of the retrospective collection of partnership histories at a time when divorce and separation rates are increasing.