Web Survey Bibliography
Because of its interactive character the web may promote more accurate survey data than do other modes. One way that interactivity can increase data quality is by providing feedback to respondents about their answers. For example, questions known as tally or constant sum items require that multiple answers sum to a fixed total, e.g. 24 hours or 100 percent; for these items a web questionnaire can inform the respondent about whether or not their individual answers add-up to the target value. Designers can provide this feedback when the respondent submits the entire set of responses or in a running tally that is incremented as the respondent enters each component answer. We report three experiments that investigate how this kind of feedback aects the quality of answers for tally items. In experiment 1 we found that if the computer displays a running tally this increased the number of totals equal to the target sum (100% of a respondents internet usage) relative to feedback that is delayed until after the total is submitted, which in turn led to more totals equaling the target than no feedback. While promising, this result really concerns the number of well-formed answers (i.e., those equal to the target) which is not necessarily the same as the number of accurate answers because some respondents may produce a well-formed answer by adjusting one or two component answers to make the total add to the target without improving the accuracy of the components. So in experiments 2 and 3 we asked whether feedback about the total also led to more accurate data. In experiment 2, respondents reported how long it had taken them to complete each section of the questionnaire they were just nishing and we compared this to their actual times; the difference between their self-reports and the server-recorded durations was smaller when a running tally was displayed than when it was not. In experiment 3 we asked respondents to report how much time they had spent on each of several activities in the previous day and compared their time use estimates to published population estimates. Again, the running tally led to smaller dierences between the self- and published reports than when this feedback was not provided. Taken together, the studies suggest that the interactivity of the web can improve both the form and the accuracy of answers for this type of item. It is not possible to provide feedback like this with self-administered paper questionnaires and it is not easy to do so in interviews so this may be a case where web administration adds clear value over other modes of data collection.
Conference homepage (abstract)
Web survey bibliography - Couper, M. P. (93)
- Reducing speeding in web surveys by providing immediate feedback; 2017; Conrad, F.; Tourangeau, R.; Couper, M. P.; Zhang, C.
- 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.
- Helping respondents provide good answers in Web surveys; 2016; Couper, M. P.; Zhang, C.
- Device use in web surveys: The effect of differential incentives; 2016; Mavletova, A. M.; Couper, M. P.
- Why Do Web Surveys Take Longer on Smartphones?; 2016; Couper, M. P.; J. J.Peterson, G. J.
- Assessment of Innovations in Data Collection Technology for Understanding Society; 2016; Couper, M. P.
- Options for Fielding and Analyzing Web Surveys; 2016; Schonlau, M.; Couper, M. P.
- Internet and Smartphone Coverage in a National Health Survey: Implications for Alternative Modes; 2015; Couper, M. P.; Kelley, J.; Axinn, W.; Guyer, H.; Wagner, J.; West, B. T.
- A Meta-Analysis of Breakoff Rates in Mobile Web Surveys; 2015; Mavletova, A. M.; Couper, M. P.
- Comparing a Cell Phone Survey and a Web Survey of University Students ; 2015; Couper, M. P.; Kim, S.; Woo, Y.
- The Effect of Mobile Web Survey Design on Screen Orientation Manipulation; 2014; Young, R.H.; Crawford, S. D.; Couper, M. P.; Nelson, T. F.
- 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,...
- The Effectiveness of Mailed Invitations for Web Surveys and the Representativeness of Mixed-Mode versus...; 2014; Bandilla, W., Couper, M. P., Kaczmirek, L.
- The Grouping of Items in Mobile Web Surveys; 2014; Mavletova, A. M., Couper, M. P.
- Social Media and Surveys: Collaboration, Not Competition; 2014; Couper, M. P.
- Mobile-Mostly Internet Users and Noncoverage in Traditional Web Surveys ; 2013; Antoun, C.; Couper, M. P.
- How well do volunteer web panel surveys measure sensitive behaviours in the general population, and...; 2013; Erens, B., Burkill, S., Copas, A., Couper, M. P., Conrad, F.
- Research Note: Reducing the Threat of Sensitive Questions in Online Surveys?; 2013; Couper, M. P.
- Is the Sky Falling? New Technology, Changing Media, and the Future of Surveys; 2013; Couper, M. P.
- The Effectiveness of Mailed Invitations for Web Surveys; 2013; Bandilla, W., Couper, M. P., Kaczmirek, L.
- Sensitive Topics in PC and Mobile Web Surveys; 2013; Mavletova, A. M., Couper, M. P.
- Surveys on Mobile Devices: Opportunities and Challenges; 2013; Couper, M. P.
- Informed Consent for Web Paradata Use; 2013; Couper, M. P., Singer, E.
- Sample composition discrepancies in different stages of a probability-based online panel; 2013; Bosnjak, M., Haas, I., Galesic, M., Kaczmirek, L., Bandilla, W., Couper, M. P.
- Sensitive topics in PC Web and mobile web surveys: Is there a difference? (presentation); 2012; Mavletova, A. M., Couper, M. P.
- Using paradata to explore item-level response times in surveys; 2012; Couper, M. P., Kreuter, F.
- Data Quality in HIV/AIDS Web-Based Surveys: Handling Invalid and Suspicious Data; 2012; Bauermeister, J. A., Pingel, E., Zimmerman, M., Couper, M. P., Carballo-Diéguez, A., Strecher, V. J.
- Database Lookup in Web Surveys; 2012; Couper, M. P., Zhang, C., Conrad, F. G., Tourangeau, R.
- Using Text-to-Speech (TTS) for Audio-CASI; 2012; Couper, M. P., Kirgis, N., Buageila, S., Berglund, P.
- Reducing the Threat of Sensitive Questions in Online Surveys; 2012; Couper, M. P.
- Web Survey Methodology: Interface Design, Sampling and Statistical Inference; 2011; Couper, M. P.
- The Future of Modes of Data Collection; 2011; Couper, M. P.
- The Uses of Open-Ended Questions in Quantitative Surveys; 2011; Singer, E., Couper, M. P.
- Effects of Response Formats when Measuring Attitudes in Consumer Web Surveys Across Markets.; 2011; Couper, M. P., Nunge, E.
- Should I Stay or Should I go: The Effects of Progress Feedback, Promised Task Duration, and Length of...; 2011; Yan, T., Conrad, F. G., Tourangeau, R., Couper, M. P.
- Can Verbal Instructions Counteract Visual Context Effects in Web Surveys?; 2011; Toepoel, V., Couper, M. P.
- The use of paradata to monitor and manage survey data collection; 2010; Kreuter, F., Couper, M. P., Lyberg, L. E.
- Research synthesis. AAPOR report on online panels; 2010; Brick, J. M., Baker, R., Blumberg, S. J., Couper, M. P., Courtright, M., Dennis, J. M., Dillman, D....
- Communicating Disclosure Risk in Informed Consent Statements; 2010; Singer, E., Couper, M. P.
- Professional Web Respondents and Data Quality; 2010; Conrad, F. G., Tourangeau, R., Couper, M. P., Zhang, C.
- Increasing Respondents' Use of Definitions in Web Surveys; 2010; Peytchev, A., Conrad, F. G., Couper, M. P., Tourangeau, R.
- Internet surveys; 2010; Couper, M. P., Bosnjak, M.
- Visual design in online surveys: Lessons for the mobile world; 2010; Couper, M. P.
- Interactive Interventions in Web Surveys Can Increase Respondent Conscientiousness; 2009; Conrad, F. G., Tourangeau, R., Couper, M. P., Kennedy, C.
- Using Debit Cards for Incentive Payments: Experiences of a Weekly Survey Study; 2009; Gatny, H. H., Couper, M. P., Axinn, W., Barber, J. S.
- Ethical Considerations in the Use of Paradata in Web Surveys; 2009; Couper, M. P., Singer, E.
- Interactive feedback can improve accuracy of responses in web surveys; 2009; Conrad, F. G., Couper, M. P., Tourangeau, R., Galesic, M.
- Pictures in Web Surveys; 2009; Toepoel, V., Couper, M. P.
- Response Order and Response Distributions: The Format of the Response Options in a Web Survey; 2009; Tourangeau, R., Conrad, F. G., Couper, M. P., Balter, O.
- Improving the Design of Complex Matrix Questions; 2009; Couper, M. P., Tourangeau, R., Conrad, F. G.