Web Survey Bibliography
Relevance and Research Question:
It is well-documented that online surveys elicit higher reports of socially undesirable behavior than interviewer-administered surveys. However, there are possible exceptions, where the form of the question may inhibit the revelation of prejudicial attitudes. In research exploring race of interviewer effects, Krysan and Couper (2003) found some instances where white respondents (for example) gave more negative responses to interviewers than to computerized instruments. In qualitative debriefings, some respondents noted that talking to an interviewer gave them an opportunity to explain their choice of responses; in the CASI condition (as on the Web; see Krysan and Couper, 2005), they could only pick one of the response options, without the opportunity to justify their choice. We called this the “I’m not a racist, but…” phenomenon. An online experiment was designed to explore the hypothesis that, when given an opportunity to explain or clarify their answers, respondents will give more prejudicial responses.
Methods and Data:
Two experiments were embedded in the LISS online probability-based panel in the Netherlands. In both cases a set of 9 items on attitudes toward immigrants was asked. In the first study, conducted in August 2009 (n=4639), a random half received an open-ended question on a separate page following each closed question. In the second study, conducted in December 2010 (n=5328), for a random half of respondents, an optional open-ended comment appeared below each closed-ended question on the same page.
Results:
The results provide support for the hypothesis. In both cases, respondents given the open question gave significantly more prejudiced responses (F[1, 4352]=25.6, p<.001 for Exp. 1 and F[1, 5326]=7.1, p=0.008 for Exp. 2) than those getting only the closed-ended question. However, contrary to expectation, the effect was larger in experiment 1 than 2. We explore this finding in greater detail, examining both responses to individual items and those who made use of the text box to offer comments.
Added Value:
This study suggests value in giving respondents the opportunity to voice their opinions in their own words, rather than just requiring them to agree or disagree with one of the response options.
GOR Homepage (abstract) / (presentation)
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.