Web Survey Bibliography
Title Mixing modes of data collection in Swiss social surveys: Methodological report of the LIVES-FORS mixed mode experiment
Author Roberts, C.; Joye, D.; Staehli, M. E.
Source Lives Working Paper (2016 / 48)
Year 2016
Access date 11.04.2016
Full text pdf (1.5 MB)
Abstract Survey-based data collection makes a fundamental contribution to social science research in Switzerland, and survey data form the empirical base of much of the research into vulnerability across the life course being carried out by the Swiss National Centre for Competence in Research, ‘LIVES’. Because different features of the design of a survey can have implications for the quality of the data collected, optimising the survey design is key to ensuring the accuracy of the conclusions drawn from analyses of the data, and hence for the validity of both theoretical and policy developments derived from these. In this paper we present a methodological report of an experiment designed to provide evidence about which survey designs work best in the Swiss context, to maximise the quality of future quantitative research. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relation between survey design – in particular, the mode or modes of data collection used – and different sources of error affecting data quality, including coverage, nonresponse and measurement error. A key motivation for the research was the growing popularity of ‘mixed mode’ data collection, which offers a number of promising solutions to challenges facing traditional surveys (like under-coverage, declining response rates and rising costs), but carries the disadvantage of confounded measurement and selection errors that can compromise the comparability of the data collected in different modes. In this study, we compare single mode surveys (mail, CATI and web) and sequential mixed mode surveys (CATI plus mail, and web plus mail plus CATI/CAPI) with respect to response rates and the representativeness of the responding sample. The results lend support to the conclusion that mixing modes sequentially can help to increase response rates and improve sample representativeness, though differences are observed as a function of the availability of telephone numbers for sample members. Furthermore, these apparent benefits of mixing modes may not justify the additional burden such designs place on resources. Future research should, therefore, be directed at evaluating the cost-error trade-offs involved in different ways of combining modes from a total survey error perspective.
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Year of publication2016
Bibliographic typeJournal article
Reports, seminars
Reports, seminars
Web survey bibliography - Measurement (1822)
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- Mixing modes of data collection in Swiss social surveys: Methodological report of the LIVES-FORS mixed...; 2016; Roberts, C.; Joye, D.; Staehli, M. E.
- What is the gain in a probability-based online panel to provide Internet access to sampling units that...; 2016; Revilla, M.; Cornilleau, A.; Cousteaux, A-S.; Legleye, S; de Pedraza, P.
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- New Generation of Online Questionnaires?; 2016; Revilla, M.; Ochoa, C.; Turbina, A.
- The Analysis of Respondent’s Behavior toward Edit Messages in a Web Survey; 2016; Park, Y.
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- Evaluating Online Labor Markets for Experimental Research: Amazon.com's Mechanical Turk; 2016; Berinsky, A.; Huber, G. A.; Lenz, G. S.
- Setting Up an Online Panel Representative of the General Population The German Internet Panel; 2016; Blom, A. G.; Gathmann, C.; Krieger, U.
- Report of the Inquiry into the 2015 British general election opinion polls; 2016; Sturgis, P., Baker, N., Callegaro, M., Fisher, St., Green, J., Jennings, W., Kuha, J., Lauderdale, B...
- Effects of Data Collection Mode and Response Entry Device on Survey Response Quality; 2016; Ha, L.; Zhang, Che.; Jiang, W.
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- An Examination of Opposing Responses on Duplicated Multi-Mode Survey Responses; 2016; Djangali, A.
- Reducing Underreports of Behaviors in Retrospective Surveys: The Effects of Three Different Strategies...; 2016; Lugtig, P. J.; Glasner, T.; Boeve, A.
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- Quantifying Under- and Overreporting in Surveys Through a Dual-Questioning-Technique Design. ; 2016; de Jong , M.; Fox, J.-P.; Steenkamp, J. - B. E. M.
- The use and positioning of clarification features in web surveys; 2016; Metzler, A., Kunz, T., Fuchs, M.
- Online Surveys are Mixed-Device Surveys. Issues Associated with the Use of Different (Mobile) Devices...; 2016; Toepoel, V.; Lugtig, P. J.
- Electronic and paper based data collection methods in library and information science research: A comparative...; 2016; Tella, A.
- A Technical Guide to Effective and Accessible web Surveys; 2016; Baatard, G.
- The Validity of Surveys: Online and Offline; 2016; Wiersma, W.
- Methods can matter: Where Web surveys produce different results than phone interviews; 2016; Keeter, S.
- Computer-assisted and online data collection in general population surveys; 2016; Skarupova, K.
- Sunday shopping – The case of three surveys; 2016; Bethlehem, J.
- Creation and Usability Testing of a Web-Based Pre-Scanning Radiology Patient Safety and History Questionnaire...; 2016; Robinson, T. J.; DuVall, S.; Wiggins III, R
- Comprehension and engagement in survey interviews with virtual agents; 2016; Conrad, F. G.; Schober, M. F.; Jans, M.; Orlowski, R. A.; Nielsen, D.; Levenstein, R. M.
- Improving social media measurement in surveys: Avoiding acquiescence bias in Facebook research; 2016; Kuru, O.; Pasek, J.
- Psychological research in the internet age: The quality of web-based data; 2016; Ramsey, S. R.; Thompson, K. L.; McKenzie, M.; Rosenbaum, A.
- Moderators of Candidate Name-Order Effects in Elections: An Experiment; 2016; Kim, Nu.; Krosnick, J. A.; Casasanto, D.
- Measuring Generalized Trust: An Examination of Question Wording and the Number of Scale Points; 2016; Lundmark, S.; Giljam, M.; Dahlberg, S.
- Equivalence of paper-and-pencil and computerized self-report surveys in older adults; 2016; Weigold, A.; Weigold, I. K.; Drakeford, M. K.; Dykema, S. A.; Smith, C. A.
- Quality of Different Scales in an Online Survey in Mexico and Colombia; 2016; Revilla, M.; Ochoa, C.
- A multi-group analysis of online survey respondent data quality: Comparing a regular USA consumer panel...; 2016; Golden, L.; Albaum, G.; Roster, C. A.; Smith, S. M.
- Does the Inclusion of Non-Internet Households in a Web Panel Reduce Coverage Bias?; 2016; Eckman, S.
- Investigating respondent multitasking in web surveys using paradata; 2016; Sendelbah, A.; Vehovar, V.; Slavec, A.; Petrovcic, A.
- Respondent Conditioning in Online Panel Surveys: Results of Two Field Experiments; 2016; Struminskaya, B.
- Swapping bricks for clicks: Crowdsourcing longitudinal data on Amazon Turk; 2016; Daly, T. M.; Nataraajan, R.
- A reliability analysis of Mechanical Turk data; 2016; Rouse, S. V.
- Quota Controls in Survey Research.; 2016; Gittelman, S. H.; Thomas, R. K.; Lavrakas, P. J.; Lange, V.
- Presentation matters: how mode effects in item non-response depend on the presentation of response options...; 2016; Zeglovits, E.; Schwarzer, S.
- Internet-administered Health-related Quality of Life Questionnaires Compared With Pen and Paper in an...; 2016; Nitikman, M.; Mulpuri, K.; Reilly, C. W.
- Scientific Surveys Based on Incomplete Sampling Frames and High Rates of Nonresponse; 2016; Fahimi, M.; Barlas, F. M.; Thomas, R. K.; Buttermore, N. R.
- Doing Surveys Online ; 2016; Toepoel, V.
- Exploring Factors in Contributing Student Progress in the Open University; 2016; Arifin, M. H.
- Are Fast Responses More Random? Testing the Effect of Response Time on Scale in an Online Choice Experiment...; 2015; Boerger, T.