The effect of busyness on survey participation: being too busy or feeling too busy to cooperate?

‘I am too busy’ is one of the most commonly cited reasons for people not to participate in survey research. Yet, empirical data on the association between ‘busyness’ and survey participation are scarce, due to a lack of data on busyness or time pressure among the non-respondents. This article sets off with an overview of the strategies and types of auxiliary data that can be used to assess the effects of busyness on survey participation. Then, using data of a two-wave SCV/ISSP-survey of 2002 that includes an elaborate section on time use and combining work and family life, we employ survey variables of the first wave to investigate effects of busyness on survey participation in the second wave. Interestingly, we find that the subjective experience of busyness – feeling too busy – has a significant effect on participation, whereas more objective measures of busyness do not.