DNA Collection in a randomized social science study of college peer effects

Guang Guo, Jessica Halliday Hardie, Craig Owen, Jonathan K. Daw, Yilan Fu, Hedwig Lee, Amy Lucas, Emily McKendry-Smith, Greg Duncan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

We describe the DNA collection processes of an initial pilot and full study, which is designed to investigate joint peer and genetic effects on health behaviors and attitudes in a college campus setting. In the main study, 2664 (79.5%) students completed a Web survey and 2080 (78.7% of the survey completers after adjusting for the ineligible) provided a saliva DNA sample. The response rate for completing both the survey and the DNA portion of the study is 62.5%. Our DNA yields are of high quality. Overall, our experiences and results demonstrate that genetic data can be successfully collected as a part of traditional social science survey research projects. To aid others in doing so, we provide extensive details of our data collection experiences and offer recommendations to future researchers seeking to do or evaluate similar work.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1-29
Number of pages29
JournalSociological methodology
Volume39
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2009

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Sociology and Political Science

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