Web Survey Bibliography
Relevance & Research Question: Traditionally, the measurement of ego-centered social networks is done with the help of an interviewer who is available for assistance and who can motivate the respondent to continue with the answering procedure. The most often used method to collect ego-centered network data was proposed by Burt (1984): first a contact list with name generators, then name-interpreters, and finally the inter-alter response matrix. Nowadays, network data are often collected via web surveys using the same three kinds of questions. However, research has shown that this procedure leads to a reduction of data quality, probably because respondents tend to answer items mechanically (Matzat & Snijders 2010). We present the results of an online experiment that tests the usefulness of a visual way of eliciting participants’ responses to network items. We test whether the ‘quality of the data’ (see below) collected in this way improves, when compared to the standard procedure implemented in web surveys. We hypothesize that participants find the experience more enjoyable, leading to an improved data quality.
Methods & Data: The implemented web survey tool presents the name interpreter and the inter-alter-response matrix in such a way that the participants immediately observe their own social network emerging. We test our hypotheses on a student sample and a sample of members of a commercial opt-in internet panel (total n=725). The randomized experiment uses a between subject design with the visual elicitation method as treatment and the standard data collection method as control condition. We test hypotheses about effects of the visualization method on, among others, the drop-out rate, the number of missing values, and the tendency to answer questions mechanically, using multivariate linear and logistic regression analyses.
Results: An important finding is that respondents answered less often mechanically. At the same time, more respondents had difficulties in understanding how to answer, leading to more missing values. Drop-out was negligible under both conditions.
Added Value: The findings indicate that the tool should be simplified more for respondents. Nevertheless, they demonstrate that a visual way of eliciting participants’ answers about ego networks in web surveys is in principal useful.
Web survey bibliography (109)
- The use of online social networks as a promotional tool for self-administered internet surveys; 2016; de Rada, V. D.; Arino, L. V. C; Blasco, M. G
- Exploring the Feasibility of Using Facebook for Surveying Special Interest Populations ; 2016; Lee, C.; Jang, S.
- Longitudinal Online Ego-centric Social Network Data Collection with EgoWeb 2.0 ; 2016; Amin, A.; Kennedy, D.
- Problems and Prospects in Survey Research; 2016; Moy, P.; Murphy, J.
- A Framework of Incorporating Thai Social Networking Data in Online Marketing Survey; 2016; Jiamthapthaksin, R.; Aung, T. H.; Ratanasawadwat, N.
- Improving social media measurement in surveys: Avoiding acquiescence bias in Facebook research; 2016; Kuru, O.; Pasek, J.
- Online and Social Media Data As an Imperfect Continuous Panel Survey; 2016; Diaz, F.; Garmon, F.; Hofman, J. K.; Kiciman, E.; Rothschild, D.
- Social Media Analyses for Social Measurement; 2016; Schober, M. F.; Pasek, J.; Guggenheim, L.; Lampe, C.; Conrad, F. G.
- Doing Surveys Online ; 2016; Toepoel, V.
- Taming Big Data: Using App Technology to Study Organizational Behavior on Social Media; 2015; Bail, C. A.
- Validation of the new scale for measuring behaviors of Facebook users: Psycho-Social Aspects of Facebook...; 2015; Bodroza, B.; Jovanovic, T.
- Facebook as a Tool for Respondent Tracing; 2015; Schneider, S. J., Burke-Garcia, A., Thomas, G.
- Predictors of inconsistent responding in web surveys; 2015; Akbulut, Y.
- Does Opinion Leadership Increase the Followers on Twitter; 2015; Hwang, Y.
- A Mixed Methods Approach to Network Data Collection; 2014; Rice, E., Holloway, I. W., Barman-Adhikari, A., Fuentes, D., Brown, C. H., Palinkas, L. A.
- Facebook, Twitter, & Qr Codes: An Exploratory Trial Examining The Feasibility Of Social Media Mechanisms...; 2014; Gu, L. L.
- Build your own social network laboratory with Social Lab: a tool for research in social media; 2014; Garaizar, P., Reips, U.-D.
- Use of a Google Map Tool Embedded in an Internet Survey Instrument: Is it a Valid and Reliable Alternative...; 2014; Dasgupta, S., Vaughan, A. S., Kramer, M. R., Sanchez, T. H., Sullivan, P. S.
- Using respondent tweets to fill in survey gaps; 2014; Murphy, J.
- The quality of ego-centered social network data in web surveys: experiments with a visual elicitation...; 2014; Marcin, B., Matzat, U., Snijders, C.
- Social Media and Surveys: Collaboration, Not Competition; 2014; Couper, M. P.
- Recent Books and Journals in Public Opinion, Survey Methods, and Survey Statistics; 2014; Callegaro, M.
- Social Media and Online Survey: Tools for Knowledge Management in Health Research ; 2014; Merolli, M., Sanchez, F. J. M., Gray, K.
- Using Online Social Media for Recruitment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Positive Participants: A Cross...; 2014; Yuan, P., Bare, M. G., Johnson, M. O., Saberi, P.
- Online Surveys as a Management Tool for Monitoring Multicultual Virtual Team Processes; 2014; Scovotti, C.
- Picking up the Bread Crumbs: Holistic Insights from Social Media; 2014; Souda, P.
- The Future of Social Media, Sociality, and Survey Research; 2013; Hill, C., Dever, J. A.
- Collecting Diary Data on Twitter; 2013; Richards, A., Dean, E., Cook, S.
- Second Life as a Survey Lab: Exploring the Randomized Response Technique in a Virtual Setting; 2013; Richards, A., Dean, E.
- Virtual Cognitive Interviewing Using Skype and Second Life; 2013; Dean, E., Head, B., Swicegood, J. E.
- Sentiment Analysis: Providing Categorical Insight into Unstructured Textual Data; 2013; Haney, C.
- Social Media, Sociality, and Survey Research; 2013; Hill, C., Dean, E., Murphy, J.
- Different approaches to measure ego-centered social support networks: a meta-analysis; 2013; Hlebec, V., Kogovsek, T.
- Online questionnaire development: Using film to engage participants and then gather attitudes towards...; 2013; Middleton, A., Bragin, E., Morley, K. I., Parker, M.
- Customer satisfaction in Web 2.0 and information technology development; 2013; Sharma, G., Baoku, L.
- Online Survey on Twitter: A Urological Experience; 2013; Dal Moro, F.
- Social media data demands a marriage of high-tech and high-touch; 2013; Waldheim, C., Stevens, N.
- Conceptualising and evaluating experiences with brands on Facebook; 2013; Smith, S.
- Discovering interest groups for marketing in virtual communities: An integrated approach; 2013; Wang, K.-Y., Wu, H.-J., Ting, I.-H.
- New social media, new social science?; 2013; Woodfield, K., Morrell, G.
- Cognitive Interviewing in Online Modes: a Comparison of Data Collected in Second Life and Skype; 2013; Swicegood, J. E., Head, B., Dean, E., Keating, M.
- Social Network Analysis and Survey Response: How Facebook Data Can Supplement Survey Data; 2013; Sage, A.
- The Use of Email, Text Messages, and Facebook to Increase Response Rates Among Adolescents in a Longitudinal...; 2013; Fleeman, A., Francis, K., Henderson, Ti., Woodford, M., Jani, M.
- Internet-Based Recruitment to a Depression Prevention Intervention: Lessons From the Mood Memos Study...; 2013; Morgan, A. J., Jorm, A. F., Mackinnon, A. J.
- Sampling online communities: using triplets as basis for a (semi-) automated hyperlink web crawler.; 2013; Veny, Y.
- Use of a Social Networking Web Site for Recruiting Canadian Youth for Medical Research; 2013; Chu, J. L., Snider, C. E.
- How and when social media storms impact brands; 2012; Morris, A., Perry, H.
- Biting the Hand and Bending the Rules: An IJMR Presentation; 2012; Pettit, A.
- A survey of social media usage integrating daily Facebook participation time with in-person social interaction...; 2012; Mishra, S.
- The integration of facebook into class management: an exploratory study; 2012; Chou, P. N.