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Web Survey Bibliography

Title WebSM Study: Speed and efficiency of online survey tools
Year 2012
Access date 23.05.2013
Abstract

The first part of this paper compares web survey software solutions according to server response time and javascript processing time when performing typical questionnaire creation tasks. The results show noteworthy differences between software solutions; while 1KA’s average response time for all observed browsers is less than 0.5 seconds, the average values for certain software tools typically exceed 2 or even 3 seconds. Together with the comparison between LimeSurvey local installation (Slovenia) and the standard LimeSurvey.org (Germany) the results show that server location has a negligible impact on response time.

Section 2 compares different software solutions according to the total time that the user requires to perform predefined tasks in real-life situations (user time), and the number of clicks and keystrokes that are necessary to create elements of a standardised web survey. We observed a high correlation between the number of clicks and keystrokes and average user time – each click and keystroke increased the average user time by almost 3 seconds. The average number of clicks and keystrokes combined per typical operation for 1KA is 3, while for other tested software tools it is typically 4 to 6. All results are based on measurements that were performed in October 2011 for online survey software solutions that are the most prevalent in Slovenia.

Key words: web survey software, speed, efficiency, response time, javascript processing, clicks, keystrokes, user time.

HomeSoftware
Year of publication2012
Bibliographic typeReports, seminars
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Web survey bibliography - Vehovar, V. (46)