With the popularity of the Internet, web surveys have become increasingly prevalent. Upon the arrival of an email invitation for a web survey, individuals may make four decisions about participating in the web survey: (a) to open the e-mail or not, (b) to click the link to the web survey or not, (c) to start to answer any question or not, and (d) to complete all web survey questions or not. However, little is known about how individuals make these decisions, what variables are associated with each of these decisions respectively, and if individuals make each of these decisions quickly and automatically or slowly and deliberately.

The present study aims to answer four questions: (1) What are the web survey participation rates at these four stages? (2) What variables are associated with web survey participation at four stages? (3) What web survey features do individuals pay attention to when participating in web surveys? (4) Are the decisions to participate in web surveys fast and automatic or slow and deliberate?

Data were collected from students in a public research university in the Northeastern United States. A web survey followed by an in-class paper-based survey was used. A total of 160 web surveys and 975 paper-based surveys were collected. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to analyze the data.

There are four major findings of the study. First, the number of participants declined over the four stages. Second, contextual variables, individuals' characteristics, and their interaction significantly predicted the web survey participation decisions at the four stages. Third, individuals paid uneven attention to various web survey features. Fourth, individuals generally made decisions to participate in web surveys in a quick and automatic fashion.

Findings of the study provide empirical evidence to help understand web survey participation at the four stages of decision making. In addition, the study contributes to the development of theories in the field of web survey methodology and decision making, and the design of more effective surveys.