The interpretation of research findings based on self-reported delinquency requires knowledge of how response rates depend on the attributes of potential respondents, including their prior offending. The purpose of the present study was to quantify the extent to which, in a sample of offenders, the two main determinants of non-response – non-contact and refusal – depend on prior offending frequency. We used binomial and multinomial regression models to assess whether frequent offenders are more difficult to contact and less willing to participate in online surveys. These hypotheses are tested on a sample of offenders who were invited by regular mail to participate in the Online Activity Space Inventory Survey (OASIS), an online survey on mobility and safety. Controlling for gender and age as potential confounders, our findings do not confirm that frequent offenders are less likely to be successfully contacted, but they do confirm that, if contacted, they are less likely to participate. Response rates in offender-based research are selective and thus potentially biased towards infrequent offenders. They generally favour conservative estimates and conclusions, implying that any associations found between crime and its predictors are likely stronger in reality.

要基于自我报告的违法行为对研究结果进行解释，需要了解响应率如何取决于潜在受访者的属性，包括他们先前的犯罪。本研究的目的是量化犯罪者样本中不答复的两个主要决定因素（不接触和拒绝）的程度取决于先前犯罪的频率。我们使用二项式和多项式回归模型来评估频繁犯罪者是否更难以联系并且更不愿意参与在线调查。对这些假设进行了检验，这些样本是通过定期邮件邀请参加在线活动空间清单调查（OASIS）的犯罪者样本进行的，该调查是关于流动性和安全性的在线调查。控制性别和年龄作为潜在的混杂因素，我们的调查结果并未证实频繁犯罪者成功接触的可能性较小，但他们确实确认，如果接触成功，他们参与犯罪的可能性也较小。基于犯罪者的研究中的回应率是选择性的，因此有可能偏向于很少犯罪者。他们通常倾向于保守的估计和结论，这意味着在犯罪及其预测因素之间发现的任何关联在现实中都可能更强。