Web Survey Bibliography
We report results from two statewide experiments in Washington designed to test potential methods for using postal mail to obtain survey responses over the Internet from address-based samples of general public households. The five methods we test are: 1) sending Web and mail modes of response sequentially; 2) providing a prepaid $5 incentive; 3) offering an instruction card for responding over the Web; 4) sending the follow-up request by Priority Mail; and 5) providing an additional $5 incentive with this follow-up request. Results are evaluated from the standpoint of response rates, demographic representativeness of respondents, and survey costs and data collection times for Web and mail modes. We find that a “Web-plus-mail” design—mailing an initial Web request followed by a mail request—with the prepaid incentive offers much potential for obtaining Internet responses. In addition, the mail follow-up to the initial Web request significantly increases overall response rates and improves respondent representativeness. However, the results also show that a mail-only design consistently obtains higher response rates and a demographically similar sample compared to Web-plus-mail. We also find significant challenges in obtaining a representative sample of respondents with either Web or mail modes and in realizing the potential cost and speed benefits of the Internet in using postal mail contacts.
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Web Survey Bibliography - Messer, B. L. (12)
- Intensifying the Request: Results from an Experiment on Improving Internet Response Rates for Address...; 2012; Messer, B. L., Dillman, D. A.
- Determinants of Item Nonresponse to Web and Mail Respondents in Three Address-Based Mixed-Mode Surveys...; 2012; Messer, B. L., Edwards, M. L., Dillman, D. A.
- Surveying the General Public over the Internet Using Address-Based Sampling and Mail Contact Procedures...; 2011; Messer, B. L., Dillman, D. A.
- Using Address-Based Sampling and Mail Contact Methods to Obtain Web Responses from the General Public...; 2011; Dillman, D. A., Messer, B. L.
- Mixed-mode surveys; 2010; Dillman, D. A., Messer, B. L.
- Item Non-response Differences Between Web and Mail Surveys of the General Public; 2010; Dillman, D. A., Edwards, M. L., Messer, B. L., Millar, M. M.
- How to Improve Response Rates to Web Surveys: Practical Guidance Based on Theory and Experimentation; 2010; Dillman, D. A., Millar, M. M., Messer, B. L.
- Using Address Based Sampling to Survey the General Public by Mail vs. 'Web plus Mail'; 2010; Messer, B. L., Dillman, D. A.
- Improving the Effectiveness of Mail Contact Procedures to Obtain Survey Response Over the Internet for...; 2009; Messer, B. L., Dillman, D. A.
- Using Mail Contact to Sample and Encourage Submission of Questionnaire Answers Over the Internet; 2009; Dillman, D. A., Messer, B. L., Millar, M. M.
- Improving survey response in mail and internet general public surveys using address-based sampling and...; 2009; Messer, B. L.
- Response rate and measurement differences in mixed-mode surveys using mail, telephone, interactive voice...; 2009; Dillman, D. A., Phelps, G., Tortora, R. D., Swift, K., Kohrell, J., Berck, J., Messer, B. L.