Web Survey Bibliography
Title Distractions: The Incidence and Consequences of Interruptions for Survey Respondents
Author Ansolabehere, S.; Schaffner, B. F.
Source Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology, 3, 2, pp. 216-239
Year 2016
Access date 19.04.2016
Abstract This article examines the incidence of distractions during online self-administered surveys and their consequences for response quality. We show that distractions are common and that they add substantially to the duration of surveys. However, we find little evidence that distractions alter appreciably the quality of responses. Interruptions in the survey do not have a meaningful effect on the number of correct answers to factual questions nor do they reduce the consistency with which respondents answer survey questions. Thus, while distractions may provide some challenges for survey administration, the good news is that they do not appear to jeopardize the quality of data collected by researchers through self-administered surveys.
Access/Direct link Journal Homepage (Abstract) / (Full text)
Year of publication2015
Bibliographic typeJournal article
Web survey bibliography - Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology (6)
- Response Behavior in a Video-Web Survey: A Mode Comparison Study; 2016; Haan, M.; Ongena, Y. P.; Vannieuwenhuyze, J. T. A.; de Glopper, K.
- Evaluating Three Approaches to Statistically Adjust for Mode Effects; 2016; Kolenikov, S.; Kennedy, C.
- Distractions: The Incidence and Consequences of Interruptions for Survey Respondents ; 2016; Ansolabehere, S.; Schaffner, B. F.
- The Effect of CATI Questions, Respondents, and Interviewers on Response Time; 2016; Olson, K.; Smyth, J. D.
- The Influence of Answer Box Format on Response Behavior on List-Style Open-Ended Questions; 2014; Keusch, F.
- Comparison of Three Modes for a Crime Victimization Survey; 2013; Laaksonen, S., Heiskanen, M.