Web Survey Bibliography
Title Assessing Newspaper Accuracy: Using the Internet to Improve a Classic Survey Technique
Author Maier, S. R.
Year 2004
Access date 14.06.2004
Abstract For more than 60 years, mass communication researchers have relied on self-administered mail surveys to assess newspaper accuracy, asking people cited in news stories whether the information was correctly reported. But most accuracy studies involve a single local news market and the cooperation of the newspaper being examined, making comparison of news accuracy across newspapers and over time difficult if not impossible to assess. Seeking to provide an independent benchmark measure of newspaper accuracy in the United States, this study attempts to use Internet technology to overcome these limitations. Two methodological research questions are posed: (1) Using Internet search tools, is it feasible to generate a database of mail and email addresses for a large sample of news sources cited in news stories across the nation? (2) Will mixed-mode data collection, using mail and webbased surveys, enhance source participation? Results show that new technology facilitates a cross-market accuracy survey of news sources. Working addresses were found for primary news sources cited in nearly all of the 7,600 newspaper stories in 20 U.S. markets studied. The response rate was 68 percent, indicating that news sources are willing to participate in a long-distance, independent survey. The response rate for the 10 newspapers in the mixed-mode experimental group was 6 percentage points greater than for the all-postal control group. The mixed-mode group also had fewer refusals, undeliverable addresses, and partially completed questionnaires. Respondents using the web questionnaire were significantly younger than those responding by mail, but otherwise differed only slightly in demographic make-up or in their assessment of newspaper accuracy. Mixed-mode data collection had an auxiliary benefit: Pre-notification letters by email provided a low-cost, rapid-response system of list validation, enabling researchers to correct addresses and other information before expensive mail surveys were sent.
Year of publication2004
Bibliographic typeConferences, workshops, tutorials, presentations
Web Survey Bibliography - 2004 (512)
- The Pollster’s Image, Computer Proliferation in America and What It Means to You!; 2004; Mayur, R., Koudinova, T., Kambavis, C., Sherlock, C.
- Rating versus Comparative Trade-off Measures; 2004; Thomas, R. K., Behnke, C. S., Johnson, A. M.
- Applying New Methodologies in a Longitudinal Study of Young Conservative Jews; 2004; Keysar, A., Kosmin, B.
- Mode-Effects in Pre-Recruited Panels of Full Population?; 2004; Bandilla, W., Bosnjak, M., Altdorfer, P., Lohmann, H.
- Nonresponse to Private and Sensitive Survey Questions; 2004; Montenegro, X.
- Overnight or All Weekend? Comparing Two Online Omnibus Panel Surveys; 2004; Bauman, S.
- Data collection via CATI/CATI-Cell: five years later; 2004; Tucker, K. I.
- The Effect of an Explicit “Decline to Answer” Option in Web Surveys; 2004; Broach, R. J., Ahsan, S., Hoffer, T. B.
- Using progress indicators in web surveys; 2004; Heerwegh, D.
- Web Survey Design: Paging vs. Scrolling; 2004; Peytchev, A., Crawford, S. D., McCabe, S. E., Conrad, F. G., Couper, M. P.
- It's Only Incidental: International Web Survey Considerations; 2004; Thomas, R. K., Klein, J. D., Behnke, C. S.
- Individual and Environmental Factors Affecting Unit Nonresponse and Drop-Out Rates in Web Surveys; 2004; Basson, D., Boulianne, J. S.
- Web of Intrigue? Evaluating Effects on Response Rates of between Web SAQ, CATI, and Mail SAQ Options...; 2004; Grigorian, K. H., Hoffer, T. B., Sederstrom, S.
- A meta-analysis of response rates in Web surveys compared to other survey modes; 2004; Lozar Manfreda, K., Vehovar, V.
- The Effect of Mode on Response Rates and Data Quality in a Survey of Physicians; 2004; Losh, M. E., Thompson, N., Lutz, G.
- Exploration of Physicians Who Choose to Respond Online; 2004; Peugh, J., Zapert, K.
- Response Effects of Survey Mode Controlled for Nonresponse Errors; 2004; Paxon, M. C., Tarnai, J.
- Mode Effects on Item Nonresponse: Gallup-European Social Survey Mixed Mode Experiment; 2004; Yu, M., Chang, M. Y., He, P., Smathers, L., McCutcheon, A. L.
- Using an E-Mail Invitation to Screen Survey Respondents; 2004; Abi-Habib, N., Triplett, T. A., Safir, A.
- Dropout on the Web: Influence of changes in respondents' interest and perceived burden during the Web...; 2004; Galesic, M.
- Propensiy Score Adjustment as An Alternative Weighting Scheme for Web Survey Data; 2004; Lee, Sunghee
- On the Convergent Validity of Attitude Measurement in Phone and Online Surveys; 2004; Thomas, R. K., Krane, D., Taylor, H.
- Nonresponse Research in the Department of Defense; 2004; Caplan, J. R.
- Addressing Trust In The Anonymity And Confidentiality Of Web Surveys Through Usability Testing; 2004; Fenlason, K., Lundby, K., Christianson DeMay, C.
- Calculating outcome rates for mobile phone surveys. A proposal of a modified AAPOR standard and its...; 2004; Callegaro, M., Buskirk, T. D., Piekarski, L., Kuusela, V., Vehovar, V., Steeh, C. G.
- Where can I call you? The "mobile (phone) revolution" and its impact on survey research and coverage...; 2004; Callegaro, M., Poggio, T.
- Can the Internet Be Used to Collect Clinical Data for Research?; 2004; Chow, Y. W., Treasure, T., Gallivan, S.
- "Go Away": Participant Objections to Being Studied and the Ethics of Chatroom Research; 2004; Hudson, J. M., Bruckman, A.
- Web-design techniques can improve your presentations; 2004; Finkelstein, E.
- Not done Net: New opportunities still exist in online research; 2004; Arnold, C.
- Internet-Based Experiments: Prospects and Possibilities for Behavioral Accounting Research; 2004; Bryant, S. M., Hunton, J. E., Stone, D. N.
- Structured Approach to Picking Accounting Software; 2004; Anonymous
- Psychological Research Online; 2004; Kraut, R., Olson, J., Banaji, M., Bruckman, A., Cohen, J., Couper, M. P.
- Human Research And Data Collection Via The Internet; 2004; Birnbaum, M. H.
- Ethical Dilemmas in Research on Internet Communities; 2004; Flicker, S., Haans, D., Skinner, H.
- Editing Strategies for Electronic Establishment Survey Data Collection: Research and Experience; 2004; Anderson, A. E., Murphy, E. D., Nichols, E. M., Sigman, R. S., Willimack, D. K.
- Web-based surveys in market and social research – Usage and needs of different user groups in...; 2004; Kaczmirek, L., Bosnjak, M., Bandilla, W., Auer, T.
- Assessing Newspaper Accuracy: Using the Internet to Improve a Classic Survey Technique; 2004; Maier, S. R.
- Panel Attrition and its Effects on Results from a Longitudinal Study: An Examination of Changes in Participants...; 2004; Baxter, R. K., Dean, E.
- Benefits and Burdens of Web-based Data Collection among College Students; 2004; Mitra, A., Durant, R. H., Wolfson, M., Martin, B., Champion, H., O'Brien, M. C., Omli, M., Williams...
- Does the Web Doom Traditional Call Centers?; 2004; Olsen, R. J.
- Modeling Survey Respondents' Speech to Improve Speech Survey Interface; 2004; Ehlen, P., Schober, M. F., Conrad, F. G.
- Latent Class Models for Studying Mode Effects in Mixed Mode Surveys; 2004; McCutcheon, A. L.
- Note to self: Forget Goals; 2004; Yin, S.
- The Uses of Paradata for Evaluating Alternative Versions of Web Survey Questions; 2004; Dillman, D. A., Smyth, J. D., Christian, L. M., Stern, M. J.
- Mobile Phones As a Threat to The Survey Industry: An Example from Europe – The Case of Slovenia...; 2004; Vehovar, V., Lozar Manfreda, K., Dolničar, V.
- Cell Phones and RDD Coverage of the Low Income Population; 2004; Hall, J. W., Touzani, M., Zheng, Y.
- DO NOT CALL: Alternatives for Contacting Wireless Subscribers for Mobile Phone Surveys; 2004; Buskirk, T. D., Callegaro, M., Steeh, C. G..
- Overlap of Fixed Telephone, Cellular Telephone, and Internet Households; 2004; Lepkowski, J. M.
- Gaining Respondent Cooperation in College Web-based Alcohol Surveys: Findings from Experiments at Two...; 2004; Crawford, S. D., McCabe, S. E., Saltz, B., Boyd, C. J., Freisthler, B., Paschall, M. J.