The diffusion of mobile devices such as tablet computers and smartphones enabling respondents to participate in self-administered online surveys create new challenges for survey methodology in terms of measurement (e.g., equivalence of mobile versus traditional online instruments) and nonresponse issues (e.g., response patterns among mobile participants in comparison to desktop-based respondents).

The results show that (1) a considerable share of online panel members participate using a mobile device, (2) that the propensity for choosing mobile devices to participate in online surveys is a function of age and gender (younger subjects and males are more likely to participate in this way, rather than older subjects and women), (3) mobile respondents did not substantially differ from traditional online survey respondents on an array of participation rate indicators. However, when using Flash technology, (4) mobile participants showed high dropout rates (about twice as much mobile drop-out rate when using Flash technology compared to traditional computers). Implications for survey methodology and future research will be discussed.