Survey research literature predominantly focuses on methodological issues, which are related to the fielding activities of the survey data collection process. Much less attention is given to the broader administrative, managerial, infrastructural and process-integration aspects of prefielding (i.e., planning, conceptualization, questionnaire development, testing) and postfielding (i.e., data preparation, automated analysis, archiving, dissemination, publication). There is also a serious lack of attention to the integrative potential of information-communication technology (ICT) for the survey process, at least in the mainstream (or in vast majority) of ICT tools that support the survey data collection process. This issue is only dealt within some large survey data collection organisations (see for example special issue of Journal of Official Statistics (e.g. Biemer et al. 2013)), which however are not the focus of this chapter.
COBISS.SI-ID: 33079645
Web Survey Methodology guides the reader through the past fifteen years of research in web survey methodology. It provides practical guidance on the latest techniques for collecting valid and reliable data and offers a comprehensive overview of research issues. Core topics from preparation to questionnaire design, recruitment testing to analysis and survey software are all covered in a systematic and insightful way. The reader is exposed to key concepts and key findings in the literature, covering measurement, non-response, adjustments, paradata, and cost issues. The book also discusses the hottest research topics in survey research today, such as internet panels, virtual interviewing, mobile surveys and the integration with passive measurements, e-social sciences, mixed modes and business intelligence.
COBISS.SI-ID: 33367389
This paper presents and demonstrates an approach to the evaluation of various survey designs with simultaneous consideration of the errors and costs. It focuses on the designs involving the web mode and discusses their potential to replace traditional modes for probability surveys of the general population. The main idea of this approach is that part of the cost savings enabled by the web mode can be allocated to incentives and complementary survey modes to compensate for the Internet non-coverage and the higher nonresponse. The described approach is demonstrated in an experimental case study that compares the performance of mixed-mode designs with the web mode and prepaid cash incentive with that of an official survey conducted using the face-to-face and telephone modes. The results show that the mixed-mode designs with the web mode and incentives can greatly increase the response rate, which even surpasses that of the conventional survey modes, but still offer substantial cost savings.
COBISS.SI-ID: 33791325
Computers play an important role in everyday multitasking. Within this context, we focus on respondent multitasking (RM) in web surveys. RM occurs when users engage in other activities while responding to a web survey questionnaire. The conceptual framework is built on existing literature on multitasking, integrating knowledge from both cognitive psychology and survey methodology. Our main contribution is a new approach for measuring RM in web surveys, which involves an innovative use of the different types of paradata defined as non-reactive electronic tracks concerning respondents' process of answering the web questionnaire. In addition to using questionnaire page completion time as a measure of RM, we introduce "focus-out" events that indicate when respondents have left the window containing the web questionnaire (e.g., to chat, email, browse) and then returned. The approach was tested in an empirical study using a web survey on a student sample (n=267). The results indicate that 60% of respondents have multitasked at least once. In addition, they reveal that item nonresponse as an indicator of response quality is associated with RM, while non-differentiation is not. Although this study confirms that a paradata-based approach is a feasible means of measuring RM, future research on this topic is warranted.
COBISS.SI-ID: 33672285
In the research of online communities and web survey methodology little is known about how elements in email invitations to list-based web surveys can be used to obtain higher response rates. In the present work, we investigated whether making authority, plea for help, and sense of community salient in email invitations determines the response of survey participants. Drawing from both survey methodology and recent research on online communities, this study also tested a hypothesis on the relationship between activity in an online community and survey response. Using a full-factorial experiment based on a simple random sample of 2500 members from the largest online health community in Slovenia, the results support only the hypothesis that plea for help is an effective response-inducing element in email invitations. Furthermore, the results support the hypotheses that online community activity, related to the frequency of visits and number of posts to an online community, are positively associated with response in list-based web survey. Since this study also shows that combining more than one element in email invitations does not necessary improve response rates, web survey research and practice may benefit from future research on this topic.
COBISS.SI-ID: 33758045