Web Survey Bibliography
Survey respondents misunderstand questions more frequently than one might expect but, current methods for collecting data make it hard to detect and correct misunderstanding. The conventional practice has been to leave the interpretation of questions up to respondents; interviewers react to requests for clarification with nondirective probes like "Let me repeat the question." The current article reviews a research program that has explored alternatives to standardized wording, in which interviewers and web survey systems can define survey concepts as needed as a way to assure uniform comprehension across respondents. One problem is that many respondents fail to recognize that their understanding is not aligned with the survey sponsors' and so do not ask for clarification - a problem that, we argue, is more serious in the survey response task than other tasks in which information is exchanged. Using today's survey techniques (telephone and face-to-face interviews, web surveys) it is possible to increase respondents' sensitivity to their own misunderstanding, increasing their requests for clarification; and, based on respondents' verbal and visual cues of comprehension difficulty, it is possible to intervene to correct misunderstanding. This approach can be extended in surveys of the future by incorporating mature speech recognition capabilities, modeling respondent uncertainty about question meaning so that when clarification is needed it can be provided automatically, and developing interface agents when appropriate. By evaluating simulated versions of these technologies in the near term researchers will be better able exploit them as they become available.
Journal (full text)
Web survey bibliography - Journal of Official Statistics (44)
- Three Methods for Occupation Coding Based on Statistical Learning; 2017; Geweon, H.; Schonlau, L.; Blohum, M.; Steiner, St.
- Dynamic Question Ordering in Online Surveys; 2016; Early, K.; Mankoff, J.; Fienberg, S. E.
- Sample Representation and Substantive Outcomes Using Web With and Without Incentives Compared to Telephone...; 2016; Lipps, O.; Pekari, N.
- Face-to-Face or Sequential Mixed-Mode Surveys Among Non-Western Minorities in the Netherlands: The Effect...; 2015; Kappelhof, J.
- Does the Length of Fielding Period Matter? Examining Response Scores of Early Versus Late Responders; 2014; Dyer Yount, N.; Lewis, T.; Lee, K.; Sigman, R.
- Recruiting an Internet Panel Using Respondent-Driven Sampling; 2014; Schonlau, M., Weidmer, B., Kapteyn, A.
- Dropout Rates and Response Times of an Occupation Search Tree in a Web Survey; 2014; Tijdens, K. G.
- Internet Coverage and Coverage Bias in Europe: Developments Across Countries and Over Time; 2013; Mohorko, A., de Leeuw, E. D.,Hox, J.
- Unit Nonresponse and Weighting Adjustments: A Critical Review; 2013; Brick, J. M.
- Disfluencies and Gaze Aversion in Unreliable Responses to Survey Questions; 2012; Schober, M. F., Conrad, F. G., Dijkstra, W., Ongena, Y. P.
- Use of Paradata in a Responsive Design Framework to Manage a Field Data Collection; 2012; Wagner, J., West, B. T., Kirgis, N., Lepkowski, J. M., Axinn, W., Kruger-Ndiaye, S.
- Toward a Benefit-Cost Theory of Survey Participation: Evidence, Further Tests, and Implications; 2011; Singer, E.
- Combining Link-Tracing Sampling and Cluster Sampling to Estimate Totals and Means of Hidden Human Populations...; 2010; Félix-Medina, M. H., Monjardin, P. E.
- Increasing Respondents' Use of Definitions in Web Surveys; 2010; Peytchev, A., Conrad, F. G., Couper, M. P., Tourangeau, R.
- Questionnaire Design Guidelines for Establishment Surveys; 2010; Morrison, R. L., Dillman, D. A., Christian, L. M.
- Dependent Interviewing: Effects on Respondent Burden and Efficiency of Data Collection; 2008; Jaeckle, A.
- Dual Frame Web-Telephone Sampling for Rare Groups; 2006; Blair, E., Blair, J.
- Merely Incidental?: Effects of Response Format on Self-reported Behavior; 2006; Thomas, R. K., Klein, J. D.
- The Influence of Web-based Questionnaire Presentation Variations on Survey Cooperation and Perceptions...; 2006; Walston, J. T., Lissitz, R. W., Rudner, L. M.
- Can Web and Mail Survey Modes Improve Participation in an RDD-based National Health Surveillance?; 2006; Link, M. W., Mokdad, A.
- Dropouts on the Web: Effects of Interest and Burden Experienced During an Online Survey; 2006; Galesic, M.
- Propensity Score Adjustment as a Weighting Scheme for Volunteer Panel Web Surveys; 2006; Lee, Su.
- Putting a Questionnaire on the Web is not Enough # A Comparison of Online and Offline Surveys Conducted...; 2006; Faas, T., Schoen, H.
- Promoting Uniform Question Understanding in Today's and Tomorrow's Surveys; 2005; Conrad, F. G., Schober, M. F.
- Does Voice Matter? An Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Experiment; 2004; Couper, M. P., Singer, E., Tourangeau, R.
- Identifying and Reducing Response Burdens in Internet Business Surveys; 2004; Haraldsen, G.
- Use and non-use of clarification features in web surveys; 2003; Tourangeau, R., P., Couper, M. P., Conrad, F. G., Baker, R. P.
- A Comparison Between Mail and Web Surveys: Response Pattern, Respondent Profile, and Data Quality; 2002; Kwak, N., Radler, B. T.
- Developing Usability Guidelines for AudioCasi Respondents with Limited Literacy Skills; 2000; J., Schneider, S. J.
- Technology Effects: Do CAPI or PAPI Interviews Take Longer?; 2000; Fuchs, M., Couper, M. P., Hansen, S. E.
- Calibration as a standard method for treatment of nonresponse; 1999; Lundstrom, S., Sarndal, C.-E.
- The Effect of Incentives on Response Rates in Interviewer-Mediated Surveys; 1999; Singer, E., van Hoewyk, J., Gebler, N., Raghunathan, T., McGonagle, K.
- Computer-assisted Personal Interviewing: An Experimental Evaluation of Data Quality and Cost; 1995; Baker, R. P., Bradburn, N. M., Johnson, R. A.
- Decentralised CATI Versus Paper and Pencil Interviewing: Effects on the Results in the Swedish Labour...; 1994; Bergman, L. R., Kristiansson, K.-E., Olofsson, A., Safstrom, M.
- Audio and Video Computer Assisted Self-Interviewing: Preliminary Tests of New Technologies for Data...; 1994; O'Reilly, J. M., Hubbard, M. L., Lessler, J. T., Biemer, P. P., Turner, C. F.
- Case Management and Communications for Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing; 1993; Nicholls II, W. L., Kindel, K. K.
- The Use of CAPI for Attitude Surveys: An Experimental Comparison with Traditional Methods; 1993; Martin, J., O'Muircheartaigh, C., Curtice, J.
- Management of Computer Assisted Interviews in the Netherlands; 1993; Hofman, P. M. B., Keller, W. J.
- Computer-Assisted Survey Information Collection: A Review of CASIC Methods and Their Implications for...; 1992; Weeks, M. F.
- Sampling Design for a Monitoring Plan for CATI Interviewing; 1990; Chapman, D. W., Weinstein, R. B.
- CATI Instrument Logical Structures: An Analysis With Applications; 1988; Futterman, M.
- The Status of Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing: Part II. Data Quality Issues; 1986; Groves, R. M., Nicholls II, W. L.
- The Status of Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing: Part I - Introduction and Impact on Cost and...; 1986; Nicholls II, W. L., Groves, R. M.
- Questionnaire Design Activities in Government Statistics Offices; 1985; Sudman, S., Cowan, C. D.