Web Survey Bibliography
To date, researchers have assumed that continuums ranging from left to right (or top to bottom) and positive to negative (or negative to positive) are the optimal questionnaire format. This format is thought to encourage reading of all scale points and to promote comprehension of the words used for each response option. If verbal labels are constructed by researchers as arrayed in a continuum, then what respondents might actually be doing is ranking a construct according to its slot on a continuum relative to other constructs measured using the same type of scale.
This study compares the results yielded by two types of rating scales. One scale was designed to mimic the conventional scales widely used in survey research with response options fully labeled verbally. The second set of scales was presented one of four ways; 1) a slider with five verbal labels on it, exactly mimicking a traditional Likert scale, but with tick marks along the scale, 2) a slider with five tick marks on it, but only the end points labelled with the text anchors, 3) a slider with no tick marks and with only the end points labelled with the text anchors, 4) a slider with anchors but no tick marks but with the actual “numerical score” displayed as the slider is moved. Respondents in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and China were members of an online panel and were randomly assigned to receive either the conventional, verbal, presentation or one of the four visual presentations.
Respondents report a preference for the slider approach because it allows for more accurate opinion reporting. The results suggest that using a slider rather than a traditional Likert scale will produce the same mean scores. It would therefore seem likely that the slider scales would also increase levels of engagement, which in turn could improve data quality by reducing satisficing. On the other hand, sliders take longer to complete, which may decrease quality (although completion time may decrease somewhat as respondents become used to using the slider). Additional analyses will illuminate which type of scale yields greater predictive validity.
Conference homepage (abstract)
Web survey bibliography (286)
- Paradata as an aide to questionnaire design: Improving quality and reducing burden; 2017; Timm, E.; Stewart, J.; Sidney, I.
- Targeted letters: Effects on sample composition and item non-response; 2017; Bianchi, A.; Biffignandi, S.
- Using Mixed Methods to Research the Professional Development Needs of English Teacher Educators in PCET...; 2017; Eliahoo, R.
- The Failure of the Polls: Lessons Learned from the 2015 UK Polling Disaster; 2017; Sturgis, P.
- Web based health surveys: Using a Two Step Heckman model to examine their potential for population health...; 2016; Morrissey, K.; Kinderman, P.; Pontin, E.; Tai, S.; Schwannauer, M.
- Fieldwork Effort, Response Rate, and the Distribution of Survey Outcomes: A Multilevel Meta-analysis; 2016; Sturgis, P.; Williams, Jo.; Brunton-Smith, I.; Moore, J.
- Gamifying. Not all fun and games; 2016; Stubington, P.; Crichton, C.
- Are interviews costing £0.08 a waste of money? Reviewing Google Surveys for Wisdom of the Crowd...; 2016; Roughton, G.; MacKay, I.
- Observations from Twelve Years of an Annual Market Research Technology Survey; 2016; Macer, T.; Wilson, S.
- FocusVision 2015 Annual MR Technology Report; 2016; Macer, T., Wilson, S.
- Last Year Your Answer Was … The Impact of Dependent Interviewing Wording and Survey Factors on...; 2016; Al Baghal, T.
- Gamifying Questions Using Text Alone; 2016; Cape, P. J.
- Eye-tracking Social Desirability Bias; 2016; Kaminska, O.; Foulsham, T.
- Assessing targeted approach letters: effects in different modes on response rates, response speed and...; 2016; Lynn, P.
- Report of the Inquiry into the 2015 British general election opinion polls; 2016; Sturgis, P., Baker, N., Callegaro, M., Fisher, St., Green, J., Jennings, W., Kuha, J., Lauderdale, B...
- The Validity of Surveys: Online and Offline; 2016; Wiersma, W.
- Revisiting “yes/no” versus “check all that apply”: Results from a mixed modes...; 2016; Nicolaas, G.; Campanelli, P.; Hope, S.; Jaeckle, A.; Lynn, P.
- Adapting Labour Force Survey questions from interviewer-administered modes for web self-completion in...; 2015; Betts, P.; Cubbon, B.
- Recent Books and Journals Articles in Public Opinion, Survey Methods, Survey Statistics, and Big Data...; 2015; Callegaro, M.
- Are Fast Responses More Random? Testing the Effect of Response Time on Scale in an Online Choice Experiment...; 2015; Boerger, T.
- Using equivalence testing to disentangle selection and measurement in mixed modes surveys ; 2015; Cernat, A.
- Polling Error in the 2015 UK General Election: An Analysis of YouGov’s Pre and Post-Election Polls...; 2015; Wells, A.; Rivers, D.
- The Cathie Marsh lecture: What does the failure of the polls tell us about the future of survey research...; 2015; Sturgis, P., Matheson, J.
- Understanding Society Innovation Panel Wave 7: Results from Methodological Experiments; 2015; Blom, A. G.; Burton, J.; Booker, C. L.; Cernat, A.; Fairbrother, M.; Jaeckle, A.; Kaminska, O.; Keusch...
- Email subject lines and response rates to invitations to participate in a web survey and a face-to-face...; 2015; Sappleton, N.; Lourenco, F.
- Validity of Internet-Based Longitudinal Study Data: The Elephant in the Virtual Room; 2015; Pugh, C. A.; Summers, K. M.; Bronsvoort, M. C.; Handel, I. G.; Clements, D. N.
- Challenges with Online Research for Couples and Families: Evaluating Nonrespondents and the Differential...; 2015; Busby, D. M.; Yoshida, Ke.
- Gamification in market research: Increasing enjoyment, participant engagement and richness of data,...; 2015; Bailey, P.; Pritchard, G.; Kernohan, H.
- Going Online with a Face-to-Face Household Panel: Effects of a Mixed Mode Design on Item and Unit Non...; 2015; Burton, J.; Jaeckle, A.; Lynn, P.
- Adapting an interviewer - administered survey for web self - completion in a mixed - mode design ; 2015; Betts, P.; Cubbon, B.
- Technology and Reporting of Daily Activities – Considerations for Analysis of Behaviours in Mixed...; 2015; Fisher, K.; Gershuny, J.
- Measurement Error in Discontinuous Online Survey Panels: Panel Conditioning and Data Quality; 2015; Atkeson, L. R.; Adams, A. N.; Karp, J. A.
- The importance of scale direction between different modes; 2015; Agalioti-sgompou, V.
- The effect of response formats on data quality and comparability across online PC and smartphone surveys...; 2015; Cleary, A.; Allum, N.; Kolbas, V.
- A web-based survey of United Kingdom sedation practice in the intensive care unit; 2015; Yassin, S. M., Yassin, J., Terblanche, M., McKenzie, C. A.
- The Use of Cognitive Interviewing Methods to Evaluate Mode Effects in Survey Questions; 2014; Gray, M., Blake, M., Campanelli, P.
- FocusVision 2014 Annual MR Technology Report; 2014; Macer, T., Wilson, S.
- Do your own online surveys. DYI and self serve market research; 2014; Cary, N.
- Nonprobability Web Surveys to Measure Sexual Behaviors and Attitudes in the General Population: A Comparison...; 2014; Erens, B.; Burkill, S.; Couper, M. P.; C., Clifton, S., Tanton, C., Phelps, A., Datta, J., Mercer,...
- 640 Current trends in management of high-risk prostate cancer in Europe: Results of a web-based survey...; 2014; Briganti, A., Isbarn, H., Ost, P., Ploussard, G., Sooriakumaran, P., Van Den Bergh, R.C.N., Van Oort...
- Is Vague Valid? The Comparative Predictive Validity of Vague Quantifiers and Numeric Response Options...; 2014; Al Baghal, T.
- Improving Survey Response Rates in Online Panels Effects of Low-Cost Incentives and Cost-Free Text Appeal...; 2014; Pedersen, M. J., Nielsen, C. V.
- The role of email addresses and email contact in encouraging web response in a mixed mode design ; 2014; Cernat, A., Lynn, P.
- Mixed-mode surveys of the general population - Results from the European Social Survey mixed-mode experiment...; 2014; Park, A., Humphrey, A.
- Measurement effects between CAPI and Web questionnaires in the UK Household Longitudinal Study; 2014; Lynn, P., Vannieuwenhuyze, J. T. A.
- Role of mode in respondents’ decisions to participate in IP5: findings from a qualitative follow...; 2014; Collins, D., Mitchell, Ma.
- Understanding Society Innovation Panel Wave 6: results from methodological experiments; 2014; Allum, N., Auspurg, K., Blake, M., Booker, C. L., Crossley, T. F., D'ardenne, J., Fairbrother, M., Iacovou...
- The untold story of multi-mode (online and mail) consumer panels; 2014; McCutcheon, A. L., Rao, K., Kaminska, O.
- A critical review of studies investigating the quality of data obtained with online panels based on...; 2014; Callegaro, M., Villar, A., Yeager, D. S., Krosnick, J. A.
- Recent Books and Journals in Public Opinion, Survey Methods, and Survey Statistics; 2014; Callegaro, M.