Web Survey Bibliography
Title Web-Based Questionnaires and the Mode Effect: An Evaluation Based on Completion Rates and Data Contents of Near-Identical Questionnaires Delivered in Different Modes
Author Denscombe, M.
Source Social Science Computer Review, 24, 2, pp. 246-254
Year 2006
Access date 07.05.2006
Abstract Most methodological evaluations of web-based questionnaires have focused on the issues of sampling and response rates. Some have considered the issues of privacy and ethics. Relatively few have addressed the question of whether people provide different information depending on the mode of questionnaire delivery. This article contributes to this relatively overlooked aspect of the evaluation of web surveys. It presents initial findings from a survey that was designed to enable near-identical groups to respond to near-identical questionnaires delivered in different modes. Web-based questionnaires and paper-based questionnaires, used as part of a schoolbased study of young people's health-related behavior, are compared in terms of (a) completion rates and (b) data contents. Issues surrounding the quality of data and the reliability of webbased questionnaires are discussed. It is concluded that, on the basis of the quantitative data from this survey, there is little evidence of a mode effect linked to web-based questionnaires.
Access/Direct link SAGE Publications (full text)
Year of publication2006
Bibliographic typeJournal article
Full text availabilityFurther details
Web Survey Bibliography - Social Science Computer Review (114)
- Comparing Survey Results Obtained via Mobile Devices and Computers: An Experiment With a Mobile Web...; 2013; de Bruijne, M., Wijnant, A.
- Cognitive Probes in Web Surveys: On the Effect of Different Text Box Size and Probing Exposure on Response...; 2013; Behr, D., Bandilla, W., Kaczmirek, L., Braun, M.
- Data Quality in PC and Mobile Web Surveys; 2013; Mavletova, A. M.
- The Design of Grids in Web Surveys; 2013; Couper, M. P., Tourangeau, R., Conrad, F. G., Zhang, C.
- How Do Lotteries and Study Results Influence Response Behavior in Online Panels?; 2013; Goeritz, A., Luthe, S. C.
- Mode Effects in Free-list Elicitation: Comparing Oral, Written, and Web-based Data Collection; 2013; Gravlee, C. C., Bernard, H. R., R., Jacobsohn, A., R.Maxwell, C. R.
- Combining Mail and E-Mail Contacts to Facilitate Participation in Mixed-Mode Surveys; 2012; Israel, G. D.
- Effects of E-Mailed Versus Mailed Invitations and Incentives on Response Rates, Data Quality, and Costs...; 2012; Dykema, J., Stevenson, J., Klein, L., Kim, Y., Day, B.
- The Effectiveness of Survey Recruitment Methods in Second Life; 2012; Dean, E., Cook, S., Murphy, J., Keating, M.
- Asking Probing Questions in Web Surveys: Which factors have an Impact on the Quality of Responses? ; 2012; Behr, D., Kaczmirek, L., Braun, M., Bandilla, W.
- Using the Internet to Administer More Realistic Vignette Experiments; 2012; Caro, F. G., Ho, T., McFadden, D., Gottlieb, A. S., Yee, C., Chan, T.,
- The Impact of Mobilization Media on Off-Line and Online Participation: Are Mobilization Effects Medium...; 2012; Vissers, S., Hooghe, M., Stolle, D., Maheo, V.-A.
- Succinct Survey Measures of Web-Use Skills; 2012; Hargittai, E., Hsieh, Y. P.
- Assessing the Effects of Technical Variance on the Statistical Outcomes of Web Experiments Measuring...; 2012; Brand, A., Bradley, M. T.
- The Effect of Invitation Design on Web Survey Response Rates; 2012; Kaplowitz, M. D., Lupi, F., Couper, M. P., Thorp, L.
- Survey Mode Effects on Data Quality: Comparison of Web and Mail Modes in a U.S. National Panel Survey...; 2012; Shin, E., Johnson, T. P., Rao, K.
- Online Data Collection in Developing Nations: An Investigation into Sample Bias in a Sample of South...; 2012; Payne, J., Barnfather, N.
- Conducting Internet Research With the Transgender Population: Reaching Broad Samples and Collecting...; 2012; Miner, M. H., Bockting, W. O., Swinburne Romine, R., Raman, S.
- How to Increase Response Rates in List-Based Web Survey Samples; 2012; Keusch, F.
- LinkedIn and Facebook in Belgium: The Influences and Biases of Social Network Sites in Recruitment and...; 2011; Caers, R., Castelyns, V.
- Researching Personal Information on the Public Web - Methods and Ethics; 2011; Wilkinson, D., Thelwall, M.
- Words, Numbers, and Visual Heuristics in Web Surveys: Is There a Hierarchy of Importance?; 2011; Toepoel, V., Dillman, D. A.
- Sliders for the Smart: Type of Rating Scale on the Web Interacts With Educational Level; 2011; Funke, F., Reips, U. -D., Thomas, R. K.
- Measuring Political Knowledge in Telephone and Web Surveys: A Cross-National Comparison; 2011; Strabac, Z., Aalberg, T.
- Response Rates and Data Quality in Web and Mail Surveys Administered to PhD Holders; 2011; Barrios, M., Villarroya, A., Borrego, A., Olle, C.
- Computer Literacy and the Accuracy of Substance Use Reporting in an ACASI Survey; 2010; Johnson, T. P., Fendrich, M., Mackesy-Amiti, M. E.
- Mobile Phones in an Environment of Competing Survey Modes: Applying Metric for Evaluation of Costs and...; 2010; Vehovar, V., Berzelak, N., Lozar Manfreda, K.
- Using Questionnaire Design to Fight Nonresponse Bias in Web Surveys; 2010; Vicente, P., Reis, E.
- Experiments in Mobile Web Survey Design - Similarities to Other Modes and Unique Considerations; 2010; Peytchev, A., Hill, C. A.
- Understanding the Willingness to Participate in Mobile Surveys: Exploring the Role of Utilitarian, Affective...; 2010; Bosnjak, M., Metzger, G., Graef, L.
- Social Network Services as Data Sources and Platforms for e-Researching Social Networks; 2009; Ackland, R.
- The Mode Effect in Mixed-Mode Surveys: Mail and Web Surveys; 2009; Börkan, B.
- Asking Factual Knowledge Questions: Reliability in Web-Based, Passive Sampling Surveys ; 2009; Elo, K.
- An Update on Survey Measures of Web-Oriented Digital Literacy; 2009; Hargittai, E.
- Differences in the Visual Design Language of Paper-and-Pencil Surveys Versus Web Surveys A Field Experimental...; 2009; Fuchs, M.
- The Influence of Topic Interest and Interactive Probing on Responses to Open-Ended Questions in Web...; 2009; Holland, J. L., Christian, L. M.
- Matching the Message to the Medium: Results from an Experiment on Internet Survey Email Contacts ; 2008; Klofstad, C. A., Boulianne, J. S., Basson, D.
- Prenotification in Web-Based Access Panel Surveys: The Influence of Mobile Text Messaging Versus E-Mail...; 2008; Bosnjak, M., Neubarth, W., Couper, M. P., Bandilla, W., Kaczmirek, L.
- How Demographic Characteristics Affect Mode Preference in a Postal/Web Mixed-Mode Survey of Australian...; 2007; Diment, K., Garrett-Jones, S.
- Reducing Nonresponse by SMS Reminders in Mail Surveys; 2007; Virtanen, V., Sirkiä, T., Jokiranta, V.
- Compensating for low topic interest and long surveys: A field experiment on nonresponse in Web surveys...; 2007; Marcus, B., Bosnjak, M., Lindner, S., Pilischenko, S., Schuetz, A.
- Drop Downs and Scroll Mice: The Effect of Response Option Format and Input Mechanism Employed on Data...; 2007; Healey, B.
- Lotteries as Incentives in Longitudinal Web Studies; 2007; Goeritz, A., Wolff, H.-G.
- Cash Lotteries as Incentives in Online Panels; 2006; Goeritz, A.
- An Evaluation of Nonresponse and Coverage Errors in a Prerecruited Probability Web Panel Survey; 2006; Lee, Sunghee
- Evaluating the Effectiveness of Visual Analog Scales: A Web Experiment; 2006; Couper, M. P., Tourangeau, R., Conrad, F. G., Singer, E.
- Web-Based Questionnaires and the Mode Effect: An Evaluation Based on Completion Rates and Data Contents...; 2006; Denscombe, M.
- Trust, Identity, and the Effects of Voting Technologies on Voting Behavior; 2005; Oostveen, A. M., Besselaar, P.
- Technology Trends in Survey Data Collection; 2005; Couper, M. P.
- When Methodology Interferes With Substance; 2005; Schoen, H., Faas, T.