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Web Survey Bibliography

Title Assessing Changes in Coverage Bias of Web Surveys a s Internet Access Increases in the United States
Year 2016
Access date 08.06.2016
Abstract
The rising costs and declining response rates of traditional survey modes have spurred many research organizations to conduct surveys online. At the same time, less expensive broadband connections and the popularity of smartphones have made it easier for many Americans to access the internet. The General Social Survey (GSS) shows thepercent of adults who use the internet rose from 69 percent in 2006 to 86 percent in 2014. The boost in access has reduced some concerns about the representativeness of internet surveys. However, there remains little research into coverage bias, which occurs if those not in the sampling frame differ from the target population on a variable of interest. Coverage bias depends on both the proportion of population included in the sample frame and the correspondence between the sample and targeted population. This raises an important question: With the increase in internet access, has there been any change in the potential coverage bias of internet surveys? In order to assess coverage bias, we analyze the GSS to determine whether those with internet access and those without it have become more or less similar in the last decade. We calculate the potential coverage bias of internet-only surveys over time for a variety of health, economic, social, and political issues, and use regression analyses to determine whether controlling for demographic factorsmitigates differences between those with and those without internet access. The results illustrate that potential coverage bias has decreased for some issues (e.g. confidence in Supreme Court), increased for other topics (e.g. support for legalizing marijuana), and remains a substantial source of potential error for several issues (e.g. support for abortion), even when adjusting for demographics.
 
 
Year of publication2016
Bibliographic typeConferences, workshops, tutorials, presentations
Print

Web survey bibliography - The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) 71st Annual Conference, 2016 (107)

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