Research Tips

Using Multiple Informants

When collecting information about a group, such as a household or an organization, it’s often useful to question multiple informants rather than asking just one person to respond on behalf of the group; different members may have different information or opinions. When using multiple informants, it’s important to remember that the individual is not the unit of analysis — the group is. This means that prior to analysis, responses from the different informants need to be integrated in some way to create a response for the group as a whole. There are different ways to do this ranging from quite simple (e.g., getting different pieces of information from different people) to quite complex (e.g., asking everyone the same questions but then using statistical models that account for interdependence among responses coming from individuals within the same group). The most appropriate method will depend on the specifics of the situation.