Web Survey Bibliography
There is a lot of debate about whether questions should be presented on a grid or in a single item per screen. Operationally, grids take less time for respondents to complete. Use
of grids should decrease response burden, although new research shows that respondents seem to prefer a single item per screen. From a measurement point of view, grids pose numerous issues: higher item non-response, higher item non-differentiation, and sometimes higher measurement error.
In this experiment, we are testing the Vitality (4 items) and Mental Health (5 items) scales of the SF-36v2® Health Survey. The SF-36v2 asks 36 questions to measure functional
health and well-being from the patient's point of view. It is called a generic health survey, because it can be used across age (18 and older), disease, and treatment groups, as opposed to a disease-specific health survey which focuses on a particular condition or disease. Two of the four items of the vitality scale and two out of five items of the mental health scale are reversed in scoring.
A sample of 2,500 KnowledgePanel® respondents was randomly assigned to one of five experimental conditions: Group 1: Standard grid; Group 2: Shaded grid; Group 3: One item per screen with horizontal response options; Group 4: One item per screen with vertical response options; Group 5: One item per screen with vertical shaded response options. Approximately 360 respondents completed the survey per condition for a completion rate of 73.4%. The survey was optimized to be seen on a screen with minimum resolution of 800 by 600 pixels. During the study we collected the browser type for each respondent. This allowed us to exclude cases in which the survey was taken either on a MSNTV or on an iPhone/PDA because they could not properly see the grid items. The final sample used for the analysis, after exclusions, was of 1,419 cases for an average group size of about 280.
We hypothesized that items presented on a grid would lead to more measurement error as indicated by a higher rate of “inconsistencies” in the self-reports to grid questions and a lower rate of inconsistencies in the self-reports to the single-item questions. We speculated that presenting items on a single screen allows the respondent to bring more cognitive focus to each question and therefore be more consistent in their answers to questions. In contrast, when items are on a grid, it is easier for the respondent to get confused, especially when the meaning of some of the items is reversed. We computed an index of consistency by correlating the total sum of scores for the reversed items with the total sum of scores for the non-reversed items. If respondents are consistent in their answers the correlation between reversed and non-reversed should be higher. We calculated Cronbach's alpha scores to measure consistency in answers for each of the five experimental conditions.
The direction of the study findings were consistent with our hypotheses -- lower alpha level for the grid presentation and higher correlation for the single-item presentation -- although the differences among groups do not reach statistical significance.
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Web survey bibliography (345)
- Mind the Mode: Differences in Paper vs. Web-Based Survey Modes Among Women With Cancer; 2017; Hagan, T. L.; Belcher, S. M.; Donovan, H. S.
- Web-Based Survey Methodology; 2017; Wright, K. B.
- Handbook of Research Methods in Health Social Sciences; 2017; Liamputtong, P.
- Lessons from recruitment to an internet based survey for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy: merits of...; 2017; Davies, B.; Kotter, M. R.
- Achieving Strong Privacy in Online Survey; 2017; Zhou, Yo.; Zhou, Yi.; Chen, S.; Wu, S. S.
- Measuring Subjective Health and Life Satisfaction with U.S. Hispanics; 2017; Lee, S.; Davis, R.
- The Effect of Respondent Commitment on Response Quality in Two Online Surveys; 2017; Cibelli Hibben, K.
- In search of best practices; 2017; Kappelhof, J. W. S.; Steijn, S.
- Rates, Delays, and Completeness of General Practitioners’ Responses to a Postal Versus Web-Based...; 2017; Sebo, P.; Maisonneuve, H.; Cerutti, B.; Pascal Fournier, J.; Haller, D. M.
- Web Health Monitoring Survey: A New Approach to Enhance the Effectiveness of Telemedicine Systems; 2017; Romano, M. F.; Sardella, M. V.; Alboni, F.
- Gathering Opinions on Depression Information Needs and Preferences: Samples and Opinions in Clinic Versus...; 2017; Bernstein, M. T.; Walker, J. R.; Sexton, K. A.; Katz, A.; Beatie, B. E.
- Oversampling as a methodological strategy for the study of self-reported health among lesbian, gay and...; 2017; Anderssen, N.; Malterud, K.
- Demographic Question Placement: Effect on Item Response Rates and Means of a Veterans Health Administration...; 2017; Teclaw, R.; Price, M.; Osatuke, K.
- Comparison of response patterns in different survey designs: a longitudinal panel with mixed-mode and...; 2017; Ruebsamen, N.; Akmatov, M. K.; Castell, S.; Karch, A.; Mikolajczyk, R. T.
- Survey mode influence on patient-reported outcome scores in orthopaedic surgery: telephone results may...; 2017; Hammarstedt, J. E.; Redmond, J. M.; Gupta, As.; Dunne, K. F.; Vemula, S. P.; Domb, B. G.
- Comparing Twitter and Online Panels for Survey Recruitment of E-Cigarette Users and Smokers; 2016; Guillory, J.; Kim, A.; Murphy, J.; Bradfield, B.; Nonnemaker, J.; Hsieh, Y. 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.
- “Better do not touch” and other superstitions concerning melanoma: the cross-sectional web...; 2016; Gajda, M.; Kamińska-Winciorek, G.; Wydmański, J.; Tukiendorf, A.
- 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.
- Question order sensitivity of subjective well-being measures: focus on life satisfaction, self-rated...; 2016; Lee, S.; McClain, C.; Webster, N.; Han, S.
- Using Visual Analogue Scales in eHealth: Non-Response Effects in a Lifestyle Intervention; 2016; Kuhlmann, T.; Reips, U.-D.; Wienert, J.; Lippke, S.
- A Case Study on the Use of Propensity Score Adjustments with Web Survey Data; 2016; Parsons, V.
- Using official surveys to reduce bias of estimates from nonrandom samples collected by web surveys; 2016; Beresovsky, V.; Dorfman, A.; Rumcheva, P.
- A Feasibility Study of Recruiting and Maintaining a Web Panel of People with Disabilities; 2016; Chandler, J.
- Exploration of Methods for Blending Unconventional Samples with Traditional Probability Samples; 2016; Gellar, J.; Zhou, H.; D.; Sinclair, M. D.
- Evaluation of mode equivalence of the MSKCC Bowel Function Instrument, LASA Quality of Life, and Subjective...; 2016; Bennett, A. V.; Keenoy, K.; Shouery, M.; Basch, E.; Temple, L. K.
- Population Survey Features and Response Rates: A Randomized Experiment; 2016; Guo, Y.; Kopec, J.; Cibere, J.; Li, L. C.; Goldsmith, C. H.
- Web Health Monitoring Survey: A New Approach to Enhance the Effectiveness of Telemedicine Systems ; 2016; Romano, M. F.; Sardella, M. V.; Alboni, F.
- Question order sensitivity of subjective well-being measures: focus on life satisfaction, self-rated...; 2016; Lee, S.; McClain, C.; Webster, N.; Han, S.
- Facebook, Twitter, & Qr codes: An exploratory trial examining the feasibility of social media mechanisms...; 2016; Gu, L. L.; Skierkowski, D.; Florin, P.; Friend, K.; Ye, Y.
- Helping respondents provide good answers in Web surveys; 2016; Couper, M. P.; Zhang, C.
- The Effects of a Delayed Incentive on Response Rates, Response Mode, Data Quality, and Sample Bias in...; 2016; McGonagle, K., Freedman, V. A.
- Feature phones no barrier to conducting an effective conjoint study ; 2016; de Rooij, R.; Dossin, R.
- Patient preference: a comparison of electronic patient-completed questionnaires with paper among cancer...; 2016; Martin, P.; Brown, M.C.; Espin‐Garcia, O.; Cuffe, S.; Pringle, D.; Mahler, M.; Villeneuve, J.;...
- Detecting Insufficient Effort Responding with an Infrequency Scale: Evaluating Validity and Participant...; 2016; Huang, J. L.; Bowling, N. A.; Liu, Me.; Li, Yu.
- On-line life history calendar and sensitive topics: A pilot study; 2016; Morselli, D.; Berchtold, A.; Granell, J.-C. S.; Berchtold, And.
- An experiment comparing grids and item-by-item formats in web surveys completed through PCs and smartphones...; 2016; Revilla, M.; Toninelli, D.; Ochoa, C.
- Assessing the Effects of Participant Preference and Demographics in the Usage of Web-based Survey Questionnaires...; 2016; Mlikotic, R.; Parker, B.; Rajapakshe, R.
- Improving Inpatient Surveys: Web-Based Computer Adaptive Testing Accessed via Mobile Phone QR Codes; 2016; Chien, T. S.; Lin, W.S.
- Comparing online and telephone survey results in the context of a skin cancer prevention campaign evaluation...; 2016; Hollier, L.P.; Pettigrew, S.; Slevin, T.; Strickland, M.; Minto, C.
- Collecting Data from mHealth Users via SMS Surveys: A Case Study in Kenya; 2016; Johnson, D.
- Effect of a Post-paid Incentive on Response to a Web-based Survey; 2016; Brown, J. A.; Serrato, C. A.; Hugh, M.; Kanter, M. H.; A.; Spritzer, K. L.; Hays, R. D.
- Reducing Underreports of Behaviors in Retrospective Surveys: The Effects of Three Different Strategies...; 2016; Lugtig, P. J.; Glasner, T.; Boeve, A.
- Quantifying Under- and Overreporting in Surveys Through a Dual-Questioning-Technique Design. ; 2016; de Jong , M.; Fox, J.-P.; Steenkamp, J. - B. E. M.
- Take the money and run? Redemption of a gift card incentive in a clinician survey. ; 2016; Chen, J. S.; Sprague, B. L.; Klabunde, C. N.; Tosteson, A. N. A.; Bitton, A.; Onega, T.; MacLean, C....
- 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
- A multi-group analysis of online survey respondent data quality: Comparing a regular USA consumer panel...; 2016; Golden, L.; Albaum, G.; Roster, C. A.; Smith, S. M.
- The effect of email invitation elements on response rate in a web survey within an online community; 2016; Petrovcic, A.; Petric, G.; Lozar Manfreda, K.
- Quota Controls in Survey Research.; 2016; Gittelman, S. H.; Thomas, R. K.; Lavrakas, P. J.; Lange, V.
- Internet-administered Health-related Quality of Life Questionnaires Compared With Pen and Paper in an...; 2016; Nitikman, M.; Mulpuri, K.; Reilly, C. W.