Including Non-Jews in Jewish Community Samples: Substantive and Methodological Issues

The availability and quality of data on American Jews and their communities have been continuing problems for social scientists, planners, and policy-makers. There are few general data sources, such as censuses or vital statistics, where Jews can be identified; no comprehensive lists of Jewish households exist as a basis for sampling; and there are no agreed-upon techniques for obtaining a representative and continuous picture of American Jewry. Creative strategies have been used in some areas to supplement membership listings of Jewish organizations with “marginal,” nonaffiliated Jews, and develop alternative designs (e.g., Random Digit Dialing) where no lists are useful. In general, all sampling strategies have limitations and biases, particularly for small populations with specific social, economic, and demographic characteristics.