Relevance and research question. Social scientist need quick access to internationally comparable data which can be done using web surveys. A good example is the Wage Indicator (WI): a continuous voluntary web survey with an homogeneous questionnaire in 65 countries.
The poster is used to show WEBDATANET members the possibilities offered by the WI for both methodological and content research. Firstly, it shows research conducted using Wage Indicator data. Secondly, it uses as an example of content research a study of how work characteristics, labour situation and labour preferences determine life satisfaction of an on-line sample of Spanish workers. The paper obtains useful methodological conclusions and open new opportunities for Life Satisfaction research.
Methods and Data. The paper uses a sample obtained in the Wage Indicator. Online voluntary web surveys like the Wage Indicator are non-probability surveys and results obtained from their data cannot, in principle, be generalized to the whole population of interest (the labor force). There is a three-step selection process: internet access, interest and decision to take up the web-survey.
The poster shows methodological approaches implemented to increase WI data quality (bias, weighting techniques, marketing and targeting measures to address underrepresented groups and paradata analyses). Finally, it uses probit regressions to estimate nested models of Life Satisfaction Determinants.
Result. Obtains useful conclusions for web survey methodology and shows the huge possibilities of the Wage Indicator for methodological research. Regarding life satisfaction research, results obtained in simple models do not differ from literature. New conclusion are obtained regarding life satisfaction explanatory variables and new research lines are open.
Added value. It has implications for several research lines within social sciences. Firstly, workers' happiness determinants and the future possibility of making global, real-time comparisons. Secondly, although conclusions are obtained from this online non probabilistic survey, they are in line with theory and literature. Thirdly, happiness determinants of these self selected workers are important per se (online participation, is becoming more and more important) although conclusion may not be applicable to the whole population.