Beyond onomastics

Onomastics—the use of names to identify specific groups—has become an important tool in survey research for targeting small migrant populations. At the same time, it is clear that names alone do not solve all challenges related to sampling and participation among hard-to-reach populations.

“Beyond Onomastics” addresses this gap. The project was conceived as a design phase and did not aim to conduct a large-scale data collection. Instead, it focused on a systematic review of methodological options:

What biases arise from purely onomastic sampling (e.g. by gender, age, naturalization status, generation)?
Which additional sampling frames (e.g. population registers, specialized registers, community-based recruitment) are suitable?
How can different recruitment channels—postal, telephone, online, via social media, or through community gatekeepers—be combined?

Based on this analysis, design proposals were developed to be implemented and empirically tested in a follow-up project (“Improving Survey Participation of Small and Hard-to-Reach Populations”) as concrete sampling designs, recruitment protocols, and questionnaire schemes.

• There has been little systematic consideration of how onomastic sampling can be integrated into multi-frame and mixed-mode designs.
• Specific challenges of small groups—such as Turkish nationals, certain diaspora communities, or multiply marginalized populations—have often only been marginally addressed in discussions of sampling.
• A conceptual framework bridging “pure onomastics” and alternative approaches has been lacking—one that explicitly weighs their respective advantages and disadvantages and translates them into concrete designs.
• “Beyond Onomastics” addresses these gaps by developing precisely such a framework and thus laying the foundation for the subsequent implementation project.

Development of a modular set (“toolbox”) of strategies for recruiting small and hard-to-reach populations, in which onomastics plays a role but is not the only option.
Design of clearly specified sampling strategies that can be empirically tested in a follow-up project (e.g. for Turkish citizens in Germany).
Preparation of survey instruments and contact procedures tailored to the specific living conditions and recruitment contexts of these target groups.

Review: Analysis of international literature on onomastic and alternative methods (register-based approaches, network sampling, respondent-driven sampling, community-based approaches).
Concept development: Derivation of possible sampling and recruitment designs combining onomastics with other sources.
Feasibility assessment: Examination of legal, organizational, and technical aspects (e.g. data protection, access to address sources, interfaces with fieldwork agencies).
Transition to follow-up project: Transfer of the developed designs into a proposal / follow-up project (“Improving Survey Participation of Small and Hard-to-Reach Populations”), in which the concepts are implemented empirically.

Since “Beyond Onomastics” was primarily a conceptual and preparatory project, formal reports are not the main outcome. The key results include:

• a systematic assessment of the potential uses of onomastics for small populations,
• a set of concrete proposals for combined sampling and recruitment strategies,
• the development of a project concept that informed the subsequent research project on improving survey participation.