Web Survey Bibliography
Relevance & Research Question: Web surveys of the general population are suspected to yield less representative samples than traditional survey modes for two major reasons. First, population coverage with internet access is incomplete in most countries. Second, response rates to Web surveys are generally lower than in traditional modes. Sequential mixed-mode strategies using personal (CAPI) or telephone (CATI) interviews have been suggested to cope with the presumed representativity problem. In this study we assess the underlying assumptions of this reasoning, i.e., first, whether a probability sample using Web for data collection is less representative than other modes and, second, whether CAPI or CATI possess properties that can compensate for bias when added in sequence to Web.
Methods & Data: We conducted an experiment based on a national probability sample of 8,800 persons in the context of the Dutch ‘Security Monitor’ survey. Persons were assigned to one out of four modes (Web, Mail, CATI, CAPI). Mailed invitations contained a link (Web), a questionnaire (Mail), or announced the contact by an interviewer (CAPI/CATI). After 4-8 weeks we approached every person again in a second wave, either by CAPI or CATI. We included questions on internet coverage in this wave. To assess representativity, background data was available from national registries.
Results: Though The Netherlands are a country of high internet coverage, the impact of under-coverage on representativity was strong (assessed by R-indicators). However, many of the coverage deficits were mitigated in the process of contact and cooperation. The final Web response sample was as representative as CAPI and even more representative than CATI and Mail. Mixing modes in sequence (i.e. Web followed by CAPI or CAPI+CATI) was not capable of compensating the deficits of Web beyond well-known net increases in response rates.
Added Value: Our results question two basic assumptions about Web surveys and mixed-mode designs. We suggest that Web surveys possess equally good or better response properties as traditional modes, if they are based on probability samples and population coverage with internet access is high. Also, from a representativity perspective, we did not find evidence in favour of using mixed-mode designs.
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Web survey bibliography (95)
- Virtual reality meets sensory research; 2017; Depoortere, L.
- Methods for Evaluating Respondent Attrition in Web-Based Surveys; 2016; Hochheimer, C. J.; Sabo, R. T.; Krist, A. H.; Day, T.; Cyrus, J.; Woolf, S. H.
- Exploration of Methods for Blending Unconventional Samples with Traditional Probability Samples; 2016; Gellar, J.; Zhou, H.; D.; Sinclair, M. D.
- Ratio of Vector Lengths as an Indicator of Sample Representativeness ; 2016; Shin, H. C.
- Online and Social Media Data As an Imperfect Continuous Panel Survey; 2016; Diaz, F.; Garmon, F.; Hofman, J. K.; Kiciman, E.; Rothschild, D.
- Validating self-reported mobile phone use in adults using a newly developed smartphone application; 2015; Goedhart, G., Kromhout, H., Wiart, J., Vermeulen, R.
- Innovative Uses of Paradata Across Diverse Contexts ; 2015; Cheung, G.; Pennell, B.-E.
- Build your own social network laboratory with Social Lab: a tool for research in social media; 2014; Garaizar, P., Reips, U.-D.
- Picking up the Bread Crumbs: Holistic Insights from Social Media; 2014; Souda, P.
- Survey optimisation considerations for Android, Apple and Windows 8 mobile devices; 2013; Owen, R.
- Second Life as a Survey Lab: Exploring the Randomized Response Technique in a Virtual Setting; 2013; Richards, A., Dean, E.
- Virtual Cognitive Interviewing Using Skype and Second Life; 2013; Dean, E., Head, B., Swicegood, J. E.
- Assessing Nonresponse Bias in the Green Technologies and Practices Survey; 2013; Meekins, B., Sverchkov, M., Stang, S.
- Why Big Data is a Small Idea…and Why You Shouldn’t Worry So Much; 2013; Needel, S.
- Doing real time research: Opportunities and challenges; 2013; Back, L., Lury, C., Zimmer, R.
- Digital technology and data collection; 2013; Henriksen, B., Jewitt, C., Price, S., Sakr, M.
- Effects of Self-Awareness on Disclosure During Skype Survey Interviews; 2013; Feuer, S., Schober, M. F.
- Cognitive Interviewing in Online Modes: a Comparison of Data Collected in Second Life and Skype; 2013; Swicegood, J. E., Head, B., Dean, E., Keating, M.
- Effects of Displaying Videos on Measurement in a Web Survey; 2013; Mendelson, J., Gibson, J. L., Romano Bergstrom, J. C.
- Classifying Mouse Movements to Predict Respondent Difficulty; 2013; Horwitz, R.
- Are You Seeing What I am Seeing? Exploring Response Option Visual Design Effects With Eye-Tracking; 2013; Libman, A., Smyth, J. D., Olson, K.
- Survey Reminder Method Experiment: An Examination of Cost Efficiency and Reminder Mode Salience in the...; 2013; Anderson, M., Rogers, B., CyBulski, K., Hall, J. W., Alderks, C. E., Milazzo-Sayre, L.
- Virtual research assistants: Replacing human interviewers by automated avatars in virtual worlds; 2013; Hasler, B. S., Tuchman, P., Friedman, D.
- From mixed-mode to multiple devices. Web surveys, smartphone surveys and apps: has the respondent gone...; 2013; Callegaro, M.
- Internet-Mediated Technologies and Mixed Methods Research; Problems and Prospects; 2012; Hesse-Biber, S.; Griffin, A. J.
- An Introduction to Using Video for Research; 2012; Jewitt, C.
- Online Surveys Aren't Just for Computers Anymore! Exploring Potential Mode Effects between Smartphone...; 2012; Buskirk, T. D., Andrus, C.
- Smartphone Apps and User Engagement: Collecting Data in the Digital Era; 2012; Link, M. W.
- Specific mixed-mode methodology to reach sensory disabled people in quantitative surveys; 2012; Fontaine, S.
- Facing The Future Webcams as a survey tool in China; 2012; Gordon, A., Llewellyn, T., Gu, E.
- Comfortable in the new medium: How online qual can benefit from our share-happy culture ; 2012; Rubenstein, P.
- Using Collaborative Web Technology to Construct the Health Information National Trends Survey; 2012; Moser, R. P., Beckjord, E. B., Finney Rutten, L. J., Blake, K., Hesse, B. W.
- The Representativity of Web Surveys of the General Population compared to Traditional Modes and Mixed...; 2012; Klausch, L. T., Schouten, B., Hox, J.
- Time use data collection using Smartphones: Results of a pilot study among experienced and inexperienced...; 2012; Scherpenzeel, A., Sonck, N., Fernee, H., Morren, Me.
- Using Webinar Polls to Collect Online Survey Data: The Case of a Behavioral Finance Problem; 2012; Sahu, C.
- The Game Experiments: Researching how gaming techniques can be used to improve the quality of feedback...; 2011; Sleep, D., Puleston, J.
- The benefits and constraints of e-mail interviews and discussions as methods of accessing valid data; 2011; Roberts, An.
- Facial imaging: The new face of online survey research; 2011; Gordon, A., McCallum, D., Sorci, M., Llewellyn, T.
- On Affordances and Technological Intersubjectivity; 2011; Vatrapu, R.
- Building online communities; 2011; Mlačić, B., Milas, G., Mikloušić, I.
- Eye Tracking in testing questionnaires: What’s the added value?; 2011; Tries, S.
- Video enhanced web survey; 2011; Fuchs, M., Kunz, T., Gebhard, F.
- Engagement, Consistency, Reach – why the Technology Landscape Precludes All Three; 2011; Johnson, A., Rolfe, G.
- Twitter mood predicts the stock market.; 2011; Bollen, J., Mao, H., Zeng, X.-J.
- Web based CATI on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud and VirtualBox using queXS; 2011; Zammit, A.
- Web/Cloud Based CATI Using queXS; 2011; Zammit, A.
- Partnership-Driven Resources to Improve and Enhance Research (PRIMER): A Survey of Community-Engaged...; 2011; Dolor, R. J., Greene, S. M., Thompson, E., Baldwin, L.-M., Neale, A. V.
- Weaving the Web into Personal Communication Networks: A Mobile Phone Based Study of Smartphone Users; 2011; Kobayashi, T., Boase, J.
- Different functioning of rating scale formats – results from psychometric and physiological experiments...; 2011; Koller, M., Salzberger, T.
- Measurement invariance in training evaluation: Old question, new context; 2011; P., Gissel, A., Stoughton, J. W., Whelan, T. J.Clark, A. P.