Relevance and Research Question
Since online-based research methods, especially online surveys, have established as a significant method in market research and social research, the use of mobile phones as research instruments is more and more examined. Mobile phones deliver several advantages for researchers, they are widely spread and accepted in society and they offer the opportunity to screen the context of data collection in the field (context-sensitivity). The current study analyses the usability of self-administrated mobile web surveys in comparison to a classic web survey, focusing on participation behavior, sampling, response rate, as well as dropout rates of such a study-design.
Methods & Data
The comparative survey was realized during a student-festival at a German university in summer 2011. During the five days of the event, a short-questionnaire concerning visitors-satisfaction was offered to the visitors via mobile-web survey as well as classic web-survey, the participants could choose which version of the survey they wanted to answer. Overall n=108 (n=60 mobile-web survey; n=48 classic web survey) respondents (average age: 23 years) were recruited using personal promotion as well as a flyer campaign.
Results
The comparison of the mobile web survey and the classic web survey showed several differences. Even though the respondents of the mobile survey rate the survey as innovative and enjoyable, they reported technical difficulties in answering the mobile survey. The longer average processing time of the mobile survey (412 seconds) in comparison to the classic web-survey (233 seconds) indicates the same result. Consequently the respondents describe the mobile web survey as more annoying and complicated than the classic web survey. Nevertheless the drop-out rate is equal in both surveys.
Added Value
The findings indicate that mobile web surveys are a promising (new) method in market and social research and should be further investigated in future. Due to the increasing number of smartphones and mobile-only households mobile based research methods will become more and more important especially to realize representative studies. To develop valid and reliable mobile research methods and to increase the usage enjoyment as well as reduce technical difficulties, further investigations of this innovative method are needed.