There is an ever-growingdemand for statistical information in our societies. National statistical institutes have to satisfythis demand. The way they attempt to accomplish this changes over time. Changes in survey methodology for official statistics may have been caused by new developments, for example, in computer technology, but they may also be due to new challenges like increasing nonresponse rates, decreasing budgets, or demands for reducing the response burden.
National statistical institutes have to produce reliable and accurate statistics. Traditionally, they conduct face-to-face or telephone surveys to collect the data for statistics about the general population. Since interviewers are deployed, this is an expensiveway of survey data collection. Experience has shown, however, that such modes of data collection are necessary in order to obtain high-quality data.
National statistical institutes in many countries are nowadays faced with budget constraints. This causes these institutes to look for less expensive ways of data collection. A web survey seems a promising alternative. Web survey have already become increasingly popular, particularly in the world of market research. This is not surprising as a web survey isa simple, fast, and inexpensive means to collect a lot of data.
At first sight a web survey is just another mode of data collection. Questions are not asked face-to-face or by telephone, but over the internet. However, there are number of methodological aspectsthat may complicate using the web for surveying the general population …