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Web Survey Bibliography

Title The effect of email invitation characteristics and response reluctance on non-response in web forum surveys
Year 2013
Access date 04.04.2014
Abstract

This paper presents the results of a study aiming at evaluating the effect of survey invitation characteristics and response reluctance on unit nonresponse in list-based surveys of web forum participants. On one hand, it investigates how response rates are associated with request for help, authority, and sense of community as three response-inducing techniques used in email invitations. The decision to focus on a combination of the three elements was theoretically informed by research on online communities, showing that exchange of social support, belonging and norms have been central in their development and sustainability. Considering the leverage-salience theory (Groves et al. 2000) and the fact that these elements are not appealing for all online community members to the same extent, it is hypothesized that combining the three elements in different ways might result in different response rates. In addition, the paper explores if and how the three response-inducing techniques are associated with the unit nonresponse bias. On the other hand, the paper investigates the effect of response reluctance on non-response bias. In particular, the study investigates whether early and late respondents have different characteristic in terms of participation in online community (i.e., frequency of participation, number of posted messages, and year of registration) as well as whether the use of reminders can reduce the potential bias associated with unit non-response error.

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Year of publication2013
Bibliographic typeConferences, workshops, tutorials, presentations
Full text availabilityAvailable on request
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