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Web Survey Bibliography

Title Introduction Breakoffs, Questionnaire Breakoffs and Web Questionnaire Length: A Metastudy
Year 2016
Access date 01.06.2016
Abstract
Survey breakoffs denote respondents that start to fill in the questionnaire, but fail to complete it and quit prematurely. This problem requires additional attention because it occurs more often compared to interviewer-administered questionnaires. Studies usually confirm that lengthy questionnaires contribute to lower data quality, but the relation between survey length and breakoff rate often remains unclear, which is our main research focus. To show that different reasons contribute to different types of breakoffs, we separately define breakoffs that occur a) at the survey introduction (introduction breakoffs), and b) breakoffs that happen later at some point during the questionnaire, but still before it is finished (questionnaire breakoffs). This is different from the prevailing reportingonly of all types of breakoffs together, which has little practical value, because separate reporting offers a more powerful insight into breakoff prevention. We present practical implications of this approach in a case metastudy of approximately 7,000 web surveys and 2,000,000 responses, where we analyze questionnaire length and its impact on both types of breakoffs. The mean total breakoff rate for our sample is 40% and we show that introduction breakoffs highly dominate (presenting three quarters of all breakoffs). In addition, we found significant correlation between questionnaire length and questionnaire breakoffs, but there is almost no correlation between questionnaire length and breakoffs that occur at the survey introduction. To discuss practical implications, we present a framework of breakoff indicators, where we refer to and extend the AAPOR final disposition code 2.12 “Break-off or partial with insufficient information”, in order to separate introduction and questionnaire breakoffs.
 
 
Year of publication2016
Bibliographic typeConferences, workshops, tutorials, presentations
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Web survey bibliography - Vehovar, V. (46)