Web Survey Bibliography
Relevance & Research Question: Contemporary empirical research is increasingly supported with information-communication technologies. Despite playing an extremely important role, online software tools receive only little attention in literature; rare examples include Macer (2002), Crafword (2002, 2006), Vehovar et. al. (2005), Berzelak (2006), Kazcmirek (2006, 2008) and Zuckerberg (2006).
Methods & Data: We used the public WebSM database of 400 online survey tools, where key characteristics were observed for each tool: pricing, code availability, languages, countries, support, website characteristics, promotion etc. The analysis enables studying trends in historical context within CASIC developments. Next, software tools were tested and evaluated according to 50 differentiating features related to questionnaire design, appearance, routing, sample management, multi-mode support, data security, paradata, data export, and reporting. A clustering of existing software was performed based on these characteristics. In addition, as results confirm various customer studies showing that lack of integration (e.g. support to early stages of questionnaire development) is the key deficiency of contemporary web software tools, an experiment was conducted. One group developed a questionnaire the usual way (drafts in a word processor, exchanged via e-mail and only the finalized version converted to the online tool), while the other group developed the same questionnaire using a prototype software which supports full integration from the earliest stage.
Results: Web software tools can be classified into three large groups. However, all three suffer from a relatively weak support for post-survey activities (editing, coding, weighting, analysis), in particular the lack of an integrated support for questionnaire development (on-line collaboration, drafting, archiving, commenting, versioning, editing). Namely, all software assumes a pre-existing questionnaire version, which was already extensively pre-communicated in some external software (e.g. e-mail). The results of the experiment reconfirm the problem: the users clearly prefer the integrated online tool.
Added Value: This is the first comprehensive study of all available web survey software on the market ever. Besides the insight into the status and trends, the results demonstrate key deficiencies of current web software (i.e. lack of integration), while the experiment performed in the study suggests a possible solution.
Conference Homepage (abstract) / (presentation)
Web survey bibliography - Vehovar, V. (139)
- Implications of disposition codes for monitoring breakoffs in web surveys; 2017; Cehovin, G.; Vehovar, V.
- Overview: Online Surveys; 2017; Vehovar, V.; Lozar Manfreda, K.
- Non-probability Sampling; 2016; Vehovar, V., Toepoel, V., Steinmetz, S.
- Introduction Breakoffs, Questionnaire Breakoffs and Web Questionnaire Length: A Metastudy ; 2016; Cehovin, G.; Vehovar, V.
- Investigating respondent multitasking in web surveys using paradata; 2016; Sendelbah, A.; Vehovar, V.; Slavec, A.; Petrovcic, A.
- The role of word frequencies in detecting unfamiliar terms and their effect on response quality; 2015; Slavec, A.; Vehovar, V.
- Identifying and correcting question-wording problems: the case of Wageindicator; 2015; Slavec, A., Vehovar, V., Tijdens, K. G.
- Web Survey Methodology; 2015; Callegaro, M., Lozar Manfreda, K., Vehovar, V.
- e-Social Science Perspective on Survey Process: Towards an Integrated Web Questionnaire Development...; 2015; Vehovar, V., Petrovcic, A., Slavec, A.
- Questionnaire length and breakoffs in web surveys: a meta study; 2014; Vehovar, V., Cehovin, G.
- Using computational linguistic resources to evaluate and improve survey questions; 2014; Slavec, A., Vehovar, V.
- Investigating respondent multitasking in web surveys: comparison of self-reports and paradata indicators...; 2014; Sendelbah, A., Vehovar, V., Slavec, A.
- WebSM Study: Overview of Features and Pricing of Software Packages in 2014; 2014; Vehovar, V., Cehovin, G.
- WebSM Study: Survey Software in 2014; 2014; Vehovar, V., Cehovin, G., Mocnik, A.
- WebSM draft report: Questionnaire length and breakoffs in web surveys; 2014; Vehovar, V.; Cehovin, G.
- WebSM Study: Survey Software in 2013; 2013; Cehovin, G., Vehovar, V., Poglajen M.
- Web survey software and mobile device support; 2013; Cehovin, G., Vehovar, V.
- WebSM Study: Overview of Features of Software Packages; 2012; Cehovin, G., Vehovar, V.
- WebSM Study: Speed and efficiency of online survey tools; 2012; Cehovin, G., Vehovar, V.
- Data quality of questions sensitive to social-desirability bias in web surveys; 2012; Lozar Manfreda, K., Zajc, N., Berzelak, N., Vehovar, V.
- WebSM Study: Survey software features overview ; 2012; Vehovar, V., Cehovin, G., Kavcic, L., Lenar, J.
- Costs and Errors in Fixed and Mobile Phone Surveys; 2012; Vehovar, V., Slavec, A., Berzelak, N.
- Web Survey Software; 2012; Berzelak, N., Vehovar, V., Slavec, A.
- Surveying general population: What types of experiments are further needed?; 2012; Vehovar, V., Berzelak, N.
- Web panels in Slovenia; 2012; Lenar, J., Vehovar, V.
- Advanced Paradata in Web Surveys: What Can They Tell about the Response Process?; 2012; Vehovar, V., Slavec, A., Berzelak, N., Lozar Manfreda, K.
- Information-Communication Technology Support for Online Surveys: A Need for Integration; 2012; Vehovar, V., Slavec, A., Berzelak, N., Lozar Manfreda, K.
- Global market of web survey software: Status, trends and issues; 2012; Vehovar, V., Slavec, A., Berzelak, N., Lozar Manfreda, K.
- Paradata insight into survey response behaviour: An analysis of a set of hosted web surveys; 2012; Lozar Manfreda, K., Berzelak, N., Vehovar, V.
- Web survey software; 2011; Slavec, A., Berzelak, N., Vehovar, V.
- Web Survey Process within the Concept of eSocial Sciences; 2011; Vehovar, V.
- The Structural Changes of Social Support Networks in a Decade of the Internet Uptake in Slovenia; 2011; Vehovar, V., Petric, G., Petrovčič, A.
- How to ask about fixed/mobile telephone usage? Impact of question wording and analysis of corresponding...; 2011; Slavec, A., Vehovar, V.
- Optimization of dual frame telephone survey designs; 2011; Slavec, A., Vehovar, V.
- Comments on the paper - Geetha Garib: Perceived diversity among employees; 2011; Vehovar, V.
- Costs Error Optimization for Cell-Landline Dual Frame Surveys.; 2011; Slavec, A., Vehovar, V.
- Nonresponse in Web Surveys ; 2011; Lozar Manfreda, K., Berzelak, N., Vehovar, V.
- Mobile Phones in an Environment of Competing Survey Modes: Applying Metric for Evaluation of Costs and...; 2010; Vehovar, V., Berzelak, N., Lozar Manfreda, K.
- Cost-Error Optimization Model for Mixed-Mode Surveys; 2009; Vehovar, V., Berzelak, N., Lozar Manfreda, K.
- Effectiveness of incentives in mixed-mode systems: An evaluation of errors & costs; 2009; Lozar Manfreda, K., Berzelak, N., Vehovar, V.
- Preference for Mobile Interview Surveys? Interplay of costs, errors and biases; 2009; Vehovar, V., Slavec, A.
- National readership surveys: Moving from probability face-to-face surveys to Internet panels; 2009; Vehovar, V., Slavec, A., Petric, I., Sargac, M.
- Empirical Evaluation of Web Survey Software Tools: Powerful or Friendly?; 2009; Vehovar, V., Berzelak, N., Lozar Manfreda, K., Horvat, T., Debevc, M.
- Optimising survey costs in mixed mode environment; 2009; Vehovar, V., Berzelak, N., Lozar Manfreda, K., Belak, E.
- Nonresponse Bias in Surveys; 2009; Bethlehem, J., Vehovar, V., Stoop, I., Schouten, B., Shlomo, N., Skinner, C., Montaquila, J.
- "Mobile phone surveys in mixed mode environment: Balancing costs and errors"; 2009; Vehovar, V.
- Mobile phone surveys in mixed mode environment; 2009; Vehovar, V.
- Towards a flexible online mixed method design with a feedback loop; 2009; Lobe, B., Vehovar, V.
- Probabilistic methods in surveys and offical statistics; 2008; Vehovar, V., Zaletel, M., Seljak, R.
- Internet surveys; 2008; Lozar Manfreda, K., Vehovar, V.