Web Survey Bibliography
The chapter aims to explore and evaluate in more detail the efficiency of the propensity score adjustment (PSA) and the power of webographic (i.e. behavioral and attitudinal) variables in adjusting biases arising from non-randomized sample selection. In this context, it is to be considered that evidence for the applicability of PSA in the field of surveys in the scientific community is very limited. The empirical application is based on the Dutch sample of the WageIndicator Survey for 2009 - a multi-country, continuous volunteer web survey devoted to the collection of labor-related variables. In the analysis, the target variable is the monthly gross wage. The sample is compared with a probability-based web sample from the LISS panel (Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social Sciences) which is also used as a reference survey in the PSA application.
The findings indicate that with the availability of an accurate probability-based reference survey the application of PSA can help reducing biases in volunteer samples. With respect to the inclusion of webographic variables, at least for the target variable wages, the computed propensity weights did not lead to the expected improvements. This was also due to the fact that those propensity weights which effectively reduced the bias between the samples showed a much higher variability impacting on the validity of estimates. Nevertheless, and considering the advantages of volunteer web surveys (like reduced costs, flexibility, worldwide coverage, etc.) and their more and more extensive use, it is important to be aware of how far can weights improve the representativeness of nonprobability panels. The presented adjustment approaches seem to offer improvements with respect to bias correction which also allow for better generalizations of estimates from volunteer samples.
Web survey bibliography - Biffignandi, S. (17)
- Targeted letters: Effects on sample composition and item non-response; 2017; Bianchi, A.; Biffignandi, S.
- Web-respondent-driven sampling; 2014; Bianchi, A., Biffignandi, S., Artaz, R.
- Improving web survey quality; 2014; Steinmetz, S., Bianchi, S. M., Tijdens, K. G., Biffignandi, S.
- Web Panel Representativeness; 2013; Bianchi, A., Biffignandi, S.
- Responsive design for mixed-mode panel data; 2013; Bianchi, A., Biffignandi, S.
- Responsive Design for Web Panel Data Collection; 2013; Bianchi, A., Biffignandi, S.
- Innovation in Data Collection: the Responsive Design Approach; 2013; Bianchi, A., Biffignandi, S.
- Online Data Collection in the Agro-Food Sector; 2012; Biffignandi, S., Artaz, R.
- Panel retention rate and data quality: experimental results drawing on Reciprocity design; 2012; Biffignandi, S., Artaz, R.
- Challenges and pitfalls of measuring wages via web surveys - some explorations; 2012; Steinmetz, S., Bianchi, A., Tijdens, K., Biffignandi, S.
- Web Surveys: Methodological Problems and Research Perspectives; 2012; Biffignandi, S., Bethlehem, J.
- Using survey data collection as a tool for improving the survey process; 2011; Biffignandi, S., Perani, G., Laureti, A.
- Modeling non-sampling errors and participation in Web surveys; 2010; Biffignandi, S.
- Imperfect frames and new data collection techniques ; 2009; Biffignandi, S.
- An experiment on the effects of non-response reweighting on estimators' precision in a web survey; 2009; Fabrizi, E., Biffignandi, S., Toninelli, D.
- The Electronic Questionnaire Experience in Business Surveys: mode effects on quality and on response...; 2009; Biffignandi, S., Siesto, G., Zeli, A.
- Calibration and Propensity Score Weighting in Web Surveys; 2007; Fabrizi, E., Biffignandi, S.