Web Survey Bibliography
Conventional practice usually places demographic items at the end of a questionnaire. The thinking behind this practice is that demographic items are less important than topically-salient items, so a higher risk for item nonresponse is tolerated. A recent study by Teclaw, Price and Osatuke (2012) turn this logic on its head and found that item response for demographic items at the beginning of a questionnaire was higher than for the same set of items at the end of the survey. This finding raises the question of whether there are other approaches to stimulating high item response rates for demographic questions. Other studies (e.g., Messer et al., 2012; Lesser et al., 2012) have found item response rates are higher for those responding by web than for mail. This study extends previous research by exploring how a statement about the importance of answering the demographic items at the end of a survey might mediate the relationship between mode and item response rate. Experimental data from a customer satisfaction survey of Cooperative Extension Service clients are used for the study. Overall, the aggregate item response rate was significantly higher on seven demographic items for web respondents than for mail respondents. Among web respondents, the importance prompt treatment had a statistically significant higher aggregate item response rate than the no prompt treatment. Conversely, the aggregate item response rate for mail respondents with the importance prompt was not significantly greater than that for mail respondents without the prompt. These results suggest that an importance prompt is a viable strategy for reducing item nonresponse of demographic items, at least among web respondents. One explanation for the results might be that using an importance prompt on single-question screens drew more attention to the prompt than having the prompt embedded among questions on the paper instrument.
Web survey bibliography (4086)
- Facebook as a Tool for Respondent Tracing; 2015; Schneider, S. J., Burke-Garcia, A., Thomas, G.
- Social Science Survey Methodology Training: Understanding the Past and Assessing the Present to Shape...; 2015; Jans, M., Meyers, M., Fricker, S.
- Internet Research in Psychology; 2015; Gosling, S. D., Mason, W.
- Handbook of Health Survey Methods; 2015; Johnson, T. P. (Ed.)
- Adapting an interviewer - administered survey for web self - completion in a mixed - mode design ; 2015; Betts, P.; Cubbon, B.
- Future Training of Survey Methodologists; 2015; Kolenikov, S., Jans, M., O'Hare, B. C., Fricker, S.
- Automatic data collection on the Internet (web scraping); 2015; Boettcher, I.
- The Impact of Survey Mode (Mail versus Telephone) and Asking About Future Intentions; 2015; Beebe, T. J.
- Offline recruiting of young people for an online survey - what affects response rates; 2015; Zeglovits, E.
- Finding Item Nonresponse Patterns: Three Internet Survey Experiments Into the Effects of Nonresponse...; 2015; Van De Maat, J.
- Placement of the Linkage Consent Question in a Web Survey of Establishments; 2015; Sakshaug, J. W.; Vicari, B.
- The effectiveness of incentives on recruitment and retention rates: an experiment in a web survey; 2015; Mulder, J.; Douhou, S.
- Using WhatsApp as a Survey Tool; 2015; Ongena, Y. P.; Haan, M.
- The Effects of Adding a Mobile-Compatible Design to the American Life Panel; 2015; Toepoel, V.; Lugtig, P. J.; Amin, A.
- Technology and Reporting of Daily Activities – Considerations for Analysis of Behaviours in Mixed...; 2015; Fisher, K.; Gershuny, J.
- Does the Use of Mobile Devices (Tablets and Smartphones) Affect Survey Quality and Choice Behaviour...; 2015; Glenk, K.; Liebe, U.; Oehlmann, M.
- Smartphones @work; 2015; Bittman, M.
- Measurement Error in Discontinuous Online Survey Panels: Panel Conditioning and Data Quality; 2015; Atkeson, L. R.; Adams, A. N.; Karp, J. A.
- Cheating in web surveys. Evidence from a split-ballot repeated experiment on knowledge questions on...; 2015; Ladini, R.; Vezzoni, C.
- Does Personalized Feedback Increase Respondent Motivation?; 2015; Kroh, M.; Kuhne, S.
- Adapting Grid Questions for Mobile Devices; 2015; de Bruijne, M.; Das, M.; van Soest, A.; Wijnant, A.
- Unplanned use of mobile devices in a probabilistic online panel survey: Patterns of use and implications...; 2015; Poggio, T.; Bosnjak, M.; Bandilla, W.; Weyandt, K.
- The importance of scale direction between different modes; 2015; Agalioti-sgompou, V.
- Impact of response scale direction on survey responses in web and mobile web surveys; 2015; Yan, T.; Keusch, F.
- Comparing response order experiments with probability and non-probability samples; 2015; Yeager, D. S.; Krosnick, J. A.; Silber, H.
- Direction of Response Format in Web and Paper & Pencil Surveys; 2015
- Comparison of different mixed-mode and face - to face surveys - response rates and costs; 2015; Ainsaar, M.; Hendrikson, R.
- Nonresponse and Measurement Bias in Web surveys ; 2015; Metzler, A.; Fuchs, M.
- Correlates of early and late responses to surveys in an online panel; 2015; Douhou, S.; Vis, C.
- Higher Item Nonresponse Rates Caused by Slider Scales in Web Surveys; 2015; Toepoel, V.; Funke, F.
- The effect of response formats on data quality and comparability across online PC and smartphone surveys...; 2015; Cleary, A.; Allum, N.; Kolbas, V.
- Mobile devices in a web panel: what are the results of adjusting questionnaires for smartphones and...; 2015; de Bruijne, M.; Wijnant, A.
- Online Eye-Tracking of Dynamic Advertising Content in (Mobile) Web-Surveys; 2015; Berger, S.
- Deep impact or no impact, evaluating opportunities for a new question type: Statement allocation on...; 2015; Schmidt, S.
- Approaches for Evaluating Online Survey Response Quality; 2015; Gluck, N.
- Coding Surveys on their Item Characteristics: Reliability Diagnostics; 2015; Bais, F.; Schouten, B.; Toepoel, V.
- Predicting Response Times in Web Surveys; 2015; Wenz, A.
- Positioning of Clarification Features in Open Frequency and Open Narrative Questions; 2015; Fuchs, M.; Metzler, A.
- The Role of Device Type and Respondent Characteristics in Internet Panel Survey Breakoff; 2015; McCutcheon, A. L.
- Web Survey Invitations: Design Features to Improve Response Rates; 2015; Hughes, J.; Marlar, J.
- Advance Postcard Mailing Improves Web Panel Survey Participation; 2015; Bertoni, N.; Burkey, A.; Caldaro, M.; Keeter, S.; DiSogra, C.; McGeeney, K.
- Mobile Devices for the Collection of Sensitive Information; 2015; Maitland, A.; Mercer, A. W.; Tourangeau, K.; Williams, Do.
- What Is The Impact of Smartphone Optimization on Long Surveys?; 2015; Cole, J.; Brooks, K.; Sarraf, S.
- Examining the Impact of Mobile First and Responsive Web Design on Desktop and Mobile Respondents; 2015; Tharp, D.
- Can An Importance Prompt Reduce Item Nonresponse For Demographic Items Across Web and Mail Modes?; 2015; Israel, G. D.
- Leveraging Area Probability Sampling in Recruiting Households for Web Surveys; 2015; Copeland, K.; Pedlow, K.; Tupek, A.
- Reducing Coverage Error in a Web Survey of College Students; 2015; Daley, K.; Pacer, J.
- Influences on Response Latency in a Web Survey; 2015; Ackermann, A.; Cheng, H. W.; Howard Ecklund, E.; Kolenikov, S.; Phillips, B. T.
- App vs. Web for Surveys of Smartphone Users; 2015; Igielnik, R.; McGeeney, K.
- Where Does the Platform Matter: The Impact of Geographic Clustering in Device Ownership and Internet...; 2015; Bilgen, I.; English, N.; Stern, M. J.; Ventura, I.