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 (457)
- Handbook of Research Methods in Health Social Sciences; 2017; Liamputtong, P.
- Necessary but Insufficient: Why Measurement Invariance Tests Need Online Probing as a Complementary...; 2017; Meitinger, K.
- Device and Internet Use among Spanish-dominant Hispanics: Implications for Web Survey Design and Testing...; 2017; Trejo, Y. A. G.; Schoua-Glusberg, A.
- Role of online survey tools in creating temporally accurate Environmental Product Declarations (EPD)...; 2017; Ganguly, I.; Bowers, T.; Pierobon, F.; Eastin, I.
- CAQDAS at a Crossroads: Affordances of Technology in an Online Environment; 2017; Silver, C.; Bulloch, L. S.
- Development and Pilot Test of a Mobile Application for Field Data Collection; 2016; Chiappetta, L.; Kerr, M. M.
- A streamlined approach to online linguistic surveys; 2016; Erlewine, M. Y.; Kotek, H.
- The Effects of Vignette Placement on Attitudes Toward Supporting Family Members; 2016; Lau, C. Q., Seltzer, J. A., Bianchi, S. M.
- Using Web Panels to Quantify the Qualitative: The National Center for Health Statistics Research and...; 2016; Scanlon, P. J.
- Bees to Honey or Flies to Manure? How the Usual Subject Recruitment Exacerbates the Shortcomings of...; 2016; Snell, S. A., Hillygus, D. S.
- The Use of a Nonprobability Internet Panel to Monitor Sexual and Reproductive Health in the General...; 2015; Legleye, S; Charrance, G.; Razafindratsima, N.; Bajos, N.; Bohet, A.; Moreau, C.
- GreenBook Research Industry Trends Report; 2015; Murphy, L. (Ed.)
- Does Sequence Matter in Multimode Surveys: Results from an Experiment; 2014; Wagner, J., Arrieta, J., Guyer, H., Ofstedal, M. B.
- The Use of Cognitive Interviewing Methods to Evaluate Mode Effects in Survey Questions; 2014; Gray, M., Blake, M., Campanelli, P.
- Build your own social network laboratory with Social Lab: a tool for research in social media; 2014; Garaizar, P., Reips, U.-D.
- Using Eye Tracking to Evaluate Email Notifications of Surveys and Online Surveys Collecting Address...; 2014; Olmsted, E. L., Nichols, E. M.
- Correlates of Attrition in the German Internet Panel: Drop-Outs and Sleepers; 2014; Blom, A. G., Beissel-Durrant, G.
- Survey Breakoff in Online Panels; 2014; McCutcheon, A. L.
- Inside the Turk Understanding Mechanical Turk as a Participant Pool; 2014; Paolacci, G., Chandler, J.
- Nonresponse and measurement error in an online panel; 2014; Roberts, C., Allum, N., Sturgis, P.
- Estimating the effects of nonresponses in online panels through imputation; 2014; Zhang, W.
- Professional respondents in nonprobability online panels; 2014; Hillygus, D. S., Jackson, N. M., Young, M.
- Informing panel members about study results; 2014; Scherpenzeel, A., Toepoel, V.
- Determinants of the starting rate and the completion rate in online panel studies; 2014; Goeritz, A.
- The untold story of multi-mode (online and mail) consumer panels; 2014; McCutcheon, A. L., Rao, K., Kaminska, O.
- Online panels and validity; 2014; Groenlund, K., Strandberg, K.
- Assessing representativeness of a probability-based online panel in Germany; 2014; Struminskaya, B., Kaczmirek, L., Schaurer, I., Bandilla, W.
- A critical review of studies investigating the quality of data obtained with online panels based on...; 2014; Callegaro, M., Villar, A., Yeager, D. S., Krosnick, J. A.
- Online panel research: History, concepts, applications and a look at the future; 2014; Callegaro, M., Baker, R., Bethlehem, J., Goeritz, A., Krosnick, J. A., Lavrakas, P. J.
- Motives for joining nonprobability online panels and their association with survey participation behavior...; 2014; Keusch, F., Batinic, B., Mayerhofer, W.
- Targeting the bias – the impact of mass media attention on sample composition and representativeness...; 2014; Steinmetz, S., Oez, F., Tijdens, K. G.
- Exploring selection biases for developing countries - is the web a promising tool for data collection...; 2014; Tijdens, K. G., Steinmetz, S.
- The quality of ego-centered social network data in web surveys: experiments with a visual elicitation...; 2014; Marcin, B., Matzat, U., Snijders, C.
- Switching the polarity of answer options within the questionnaire and using various numbering schemes...; 2014; Struminskaya, B., Schaurer, I., Bosnjak, M.
- Measuring the very long, fuzzy tail in the occupational distribution in web-surveys; 2014; Tijdens, K. G.
- Interest Bias – An Extreme Form of Self-Selection?; 2014; Cape, P. J., Reichert, K.
- Online Qualitative Research – Personality Matters ; 2014; Tress, F., Doessel, C.
- Recent Books and Journals in Public Opinion, Survey Methods, and Survey Statistics; 2014; Callegaro, M.
- Does Gamification Work? - A Literature Review of Empirical Studies on Gamification ; 2014; Hamari, J., Koivisto, J., Sarsa, H.
- The Use of Paradata to Predict Future Cooperation in a Panel Study; 2014; Funke, F., Goeritz, A.
- Pret met panels [Fun online]; 2013; Roberts, A., de Leeuw, E. D., Hox, J., Klausch, L. T., de Jongh, A.
- The Short-term Campaign Panel of the German Longitudinal Election Study 2009. Design, Implementation...; 2013; Steinbrecher, M., Rossmann, J.
- The Future of Social Media, Sociality, and Survey Research; 2013; Hill, C., Dever, J. A.
- 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.
- Social Media, Sociality, and Survey Research; 2013; Hill, C., Dean, E., Murphy, J.
- Investigation of background acoustical effect on online surveys: A case study of a farmers' market...; 2013; Tang, Xi.
- Should the third reminder be sent? The role of survey response timing on web survey results; 2013; Rao, K., Pennington, J.
- Web panel surveys – can they be designed and used in a scientifically sound way?; 2013; Svensson, J.
- Using an Item Response Theory Approach to Measure Survey Mode of Administration Effects: Analysis of...; 2013; Mariano, L. T., Elliott, M. N.