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Web Survey Bibliography

Title Identifying and Mitigating Satisficing in Web Surveys: Some Experimental Evidence
Year 2013
Access date 04.07.2013
Abstract

Satisficing behavior is a widespread hazard in Web surveys because interview supervision is limited in absence of a human interviewer. Therefore, it is important to devise methods which help to identify and to mitigate satisficing. The paper examines whether innovative questionnaire design can be an efficient means to detect satisficing and to reduce measurement error resulting from non-substantial answers, non-differentiation in matrix questions, and speeding. It analyzes to what extent these types of satisficing can be minimized by using three tools suggested in recent research. First, several studies use prompts to reduce the incidence of non-substantial answers. Second, some authors propose alternative designs for matrix questions (so-called scrolling matrix questions) to mitigate response non-differentiation. Third, control questions (or instructional manipulation checks) are intended to identify inattentive respondents.
The statistical analyses rely on data from two Web surveys of respondents from a probability-based and a non-probability online panel, respectively. Each of the design innovations is randomly assigned to half of the sample while the other half of the sample acts as the control group. The results of the experimental manipulations are presented and a multivariate regression model for satisficing behavior is estimated to test whether the design innovations contribute to the explanation of satisficing if we control for respondent characteristics which are predictive of satisficing. The paper concludes with an assessment of the potentials of the three tools to increase data quality and a discussion of their advantages and pitfalls.

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Year of publication2013
Bibliographic typeConferences, workshops, tutorials, presentations
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Web survey bibliography (4086)

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