Web Survey Bibliography
Popularity of web surveys was largely fostered by a development of dedicated software applications. Web survey software tools have, over the last ten years, evolved from primarily command-line-based tools to easy-to-use applications with graphical user interfaces. These tools have become an important market segment, with many applications on the market, differing in terms of functionality, complexity and costs. However, with all software applications a general tradeoff between their user-friendliness (usability) and powerfulness may exist. Feature-rich solutions may require a high amount of learning and/or even some programming skills, while user-friendly and intuitive applications may offer too few features. In our study, we investigate whether such tradeoff exists also for web survey software.
In the first part, we provide an overview of software tools available on the market. We analyze availability of selected basic features of the tools included in the WebSM database. In addition, we re-analyze a sample of 72 software tools that were already included in a study conducted in 2006. This offers some empirical insight into a development of these applications.
The main part of the paper is devoted to empirical analysis of relations between powerfulness and user-friendliness of web survey software. Several evaluators were asked to implement a standardized web survey in each of the 27 selected tools. After implementing the questionnaire in each software tool, the evaluators were asked to complete the Software Usability Measurement Inventory (SUMI) questionnaire, aimed at measuring the user satisfaction component of usability. In addition, computers of the evaluators were equipped with a special software, measuring time and number of clicks and keystrokes separately for each part of the test survey project. Two other evaluators independently evaluated the tools according to a comprehensive list of available features. On the basis of the collected data, analysis of relations between powerfulness and different components of usability is conducted.
The results of the analysis serve for a final discussion of the role of different usability aspects in selecting web survey software for different purposes and in different organizational specifics, including survey implementation needs and policies, available resources, technical staff and knowledge.
Web survey bibliography (364)
- Displaying Videos in Web Surveys: Implications for Complete Viewing and Survey Responses; 2017; Mendelson, J.; Lee Gibson, J.; Romano Bergstrom, J. C.
- Usability Testing for Survey Research; 2017; Geisen, E.; Romano Bergstrom, J. C.
- Where, When, How and with What Do Panel Interviews Take Place and Is the Quality of Answers Affected...; 2017; Niebruegge, S.
- Nonresponses as context-sensitive response behaviour of participants in online-surveys and their relevance...; 2017; Wetzlehuetter, D.
- Do distractions during web survey completion affect data quality? Findings from a laboratory experiment...; 2017; Wenz, A.
- Predicting Breakoffs in Web Surveys; 2017; Mittereder, F.; West, B. T.
- Comparing acquiescent and extreme response styles in face-to-face and web surveys; 2017; Liu, M.; Conrad, F. G.; Lee, S.
- Respondent mode choice in a smartphone survey ; 2017; Conrad, F. G., Schober, M. F., Antoun, C., Yan, H. Y., Hupp, A., Johnston, M., Ehlen, P., Vickers, L...
- Effects of Mobile versus PC Web on Survey Response Quality: a Crossover Experiment in a Probability...; 2017; Antoun, C.; Couper, M. P.; G. G.Conrad, F. G.
- Methods for Evaluating Respondent Attrition in Web-Based Surveys; 2016; Hochheimer, C. J.; Sabo, R. T.; Krist, A. H.; Day, T.; Cyrus, J.; Woolf, S. H.
- Mobile-only web survey respondents; 2016; Lugtig, P. J.; Toepoel, V.; Amin, A.
- Using official surveys to reduce bias of estimates from nonrandom samples collected by web surveys; 2016; Beresovsky, V.; Dorfman, A.; Rumcheva, P.
- Making use of Internet interactivity to propose a dynamic presentation of web questionnaires; 2016; Revilla, M.; Ochoa, C.; Turbina, A.
- Helping respondents provide good answers in Web surveys; 2016; Couper, M. P.; Zhang, C.
- Gamifying. Not all fun and games; 2016; Stubington, P.; Crichton, C.
- FocusVision 2015 Annual MR Technology Report; 2016; Macer, T., Wilson, S.
- Are sliders too slick for surveys?; 2016; Buskirk, T. D.
- Research gamification for quality pharmaceutical stakeholder insights; 2016; Mondry, B.; Fink, L.
- SurveyTester from Knowledge Navigators ; 2016; Macer, T.
- Simplifying your mobile solution; 2016; Berry, K.
- Effects of motivating question types with graphical support in multi channel design studies; 2016; Luetters, H.; Friedrich-Freksa, M.; Vitt, SGoldstein, D. G.
- Why Do Web Surveys Take Longer on Smartphones?; 2016; Couper, M. P.; J. J.Peterson, G. J.
- Usability Testing within Agile Process; 2016; Holland, T.
- Association of Eye Tracking with Other Usability Metrics ; 2016; Olmsted, E. L.
- Cognitive Probing Methods in Usability Testing – Pros and Cons; 2016; Nichols, E. M.
- Thinking Inside the Box Visual Design of the Response Box Affects Creative Divergent Thinking in an...; 2016; Mohr, A. H.; Sell, A.; Lindsay, T.
- Distractions: The Incidence and Consequences of Interruptions for Survey Respondents ; 2016; Ansolabehere, S.; Schaffner, B. F.
- The Effect of CATI Questions, Respondents, and Interviewers on Response Time; 2016; Olson, K.; Smyth, J. D.
- New Generation of Online Questionnaires?; 2016; Revilla, M.; Ochoa, C.; Turbina, A.
- The Analysis of Respondent’s Behavior toward Edit Messages in a Web Survey; 2016; Park, Y.
- Effects of Data Collection Mode and Response Entry Device on Survey Response Quality; 2016; Ha, L.; Zhang, Che.; Jiang, W.
- Navigation Buttons in Web-Based Surveys: Respondents’ Preferences Revisited in the Laboratory; 2016; Romano Bergstrom, J. C.; Erdman, C.; Lakhe, S.
- Online Surveys are Mixed-Device Surveys. Issues Associated with the Use of Different (Mobile) Devices...; 2016; Toepoel, V.; Lugtig, P. J.
- A Technical Guide to Effective and Accessible web Surveys; 2016; Baatard, G.
- The Validity of Surveys: Online and Offline; 2016; Wiersma, W.
- Computer-assisted and online data collection in general population surveys; 2016; Skarupova, K.
- A Framework of Incorporating Thai Social Networking Data in Online Marketing Survey; 2016; Jiamthapthaksin, R.; Aung, T. H.; Ratanasawadwat, N.
- Creation and Usability Testing of a Web-Based Pre-Scanning Radiology Patient Safety and History Questionnaire...; 2016; Robinson, T. J.; DuVall, S.; Wiggins III, R
- Comprehension and engagement in survey interviews with virtual agents; 2016; Conrad, F. G.; Schober, M. F.; Jans, M.; Orlowski, R. A.; Nielsen, D.; Levenstein, R. M.
- Taming Big Data: Using App Technology to Study Organizational Behavior on Social Media; 2015; Bail, C. A.
- A Meta-Analysis of Breakoff Rates in Mobile Web Surveys; 2015; Mavletova, A. M.; Couper, M. P.
- Optimizing the Decennial Census for Mobile – A Case Study; 2015; Nichols, E. M.; Hawala, E. O.; Horwitz, R.; Bentley, M.
- Using Video to Reinvigorate the Open Question; 2015; Cape, P.
- Are Sliders Too Slick for Surveys? An Experiment Comparing Slider and Radio Button Scales for Smartphone...; 2015; Aadland, D.; Aalberg, T.
- Web Surveys Optimized for Smartphones: Are there Differences Between Computer and Smartphone Users?; 2015; Andreadis, I.
- Designing web surveys for the multi-device internet; 2015; de Bruijne, M.
- Data Quality Standards in Mixed Mode Surveys; 2015; Bremer, J.; Barbulescu, M.; Bennett, J.
- Changing from CAPI to CAWI in an ongoing household panel - experiences from the German Socio-Economic...; 2015; Schupp, J.; Sassenroth, D.
- Rating Scales in Web Surveys: A Test of New Drag-and-Drop Rating Procedures; 2015; Kunz, T.
- A Review of Issues in Gamified Surveys; 2015; Keusch, F.; Zhang, Che.