Web Survey Bibliography
It is common survey practice to convert a series of yes/no (forced-choice) items in telephone surveys to check-all-that-apply items in web and mail surveys. However, relatively little is known about how these different question formats may influence answers. This paper reports results from two web experiments and a comparison paper experiment in which nine different questions, varying in substantive topic and type (opinion-based and fact/behavior-based) were asked in 16 experimental comparisons of the check-all and forced-choice formats. Our purpose was to determine whether this change in question format influenced the number of response options marked affirmatively within each question and why any differences might occur. Results revealed that in every instance respondents marked significantly more items in the forced-choice format than in the check-all format. Given these results, detailed analyses of response patterns within questions, answering time, and alternative wording structures of questions were undertaken to examine which of three theories (satisficing, depth of processing, and acquiescence) best accounted for the response differences across question formats. These analyses indicated that the forced-choice format appears to invoke deeper processing and to eliminate satisficing behavior that occurs among some respondents to the check-all format, but that acquiescence does not seem to be an issue in the forcedchoice format. Thus, it appears that the use of the forced-choice question format is a desirable alternative to the use of the check-all question format for multiple answer questions. In addition, the findings reported here give ample reason to be concerned about the current practice of automatically converting items from the forced-choice format to the check-all format or vise versa when switching between telephone and paper or web surveys.
Conference program
Web survey bibliography - 2005 (76)
- Compilation of Composite Satisfaction Index in User Satisfaction Survey; 2005; Sam Min, K., Park, Ju.
- Unintended Consequences of Incentive Induced Response Rate Differences; 2005; Pope, D., Crawford, S. D., Johnson, E. O., McCabe, S. E.
- Mode Effects in Customer Satisfaction Measurement; 2005; Steiger, D. M., Keil, L., Gaertner, G.
- From Crayons to Computers: The Evolution of Computer use in Redistricting; 2005; Altman, M., MacDonald, K., McDonald, M.
- Survey Measures of Web-Oriented Digital Literacy; 2005; Hargittai, E.
- Vote Over-Reporting: Testing the Social Desirability Hypothesis in Telephone and Internet Surveys; 2005; Holbrook, A. L., Krosnick, J. A.
- Using the Web to Survey College Students: Institutional Characteristics That Influence Survey Quality...; 2005; Crawford, S. D., McCabe, S. E., Inkelas, K. K.
- Visual Context Effects in Web Surveys; 2005; Couper, M. P., Conrad, F. G., Tourangeau, R.
- The Labelling Game: A Conceptual Exploration of Deviance on the Internet; 2005; Denegri-Knott, J., Taylor, J.
- Comparing Check-All and Forced-Choice Question Formats in Web Surveys: The Role of Satisficing, Depth...; 2005; Smyth, J. D., Dillman, D. A., Christian, L. M., Stern, M. J.
- Data Collection Mode Effects Controlling for Sample Origins in a Panel Study: Telephone versus Internet...; 2005; Dennis, J. M., Chatt, C., de Rouvray, C., Pulliam, P.
- An Empirical Evaluation of Three Web Survey Design Principles; 2005; Healey, B., Macpherson, T., Kuijten, B.
- In my opinion; 2005; Haley, F.
- Eight tips offer best practices for online MR; 2005; Kottler, R. E.
- Get the most from Net-based panel research; 2005; Philpott, G.
- Evaluation of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Young People Using a Web-Based Survey Technique.; 2005; Chung, J. H., des Roches, C. M., Meunier, J., Eavey, R. D.
- Demands on web survey tools for epidemiological research; 2005; Baelter, O., Baelter, K.
- The Quality of Ego-Centered Network Data: A comparison of online versus offline data collection; 2005; Snijders, C., Matzat, U.
- Meta-Analyses on Contingent versus Unconditional Incentives; 2005; Goeritz, A.
- Internet-administered adolescent health questionnaires compared with a paper version in a randomized...; 2005; Mangunkusumo, R. T., Moorman, P. W., van den Bergh, H., Ruiter, A. E., Van Der Lei, J., de Koning, H...
- Online-Research: Markt- und Sozialforschung mit dem Internet; 2005; Welker, M., Werner, A., Scholz, J.
- Mode effects for collecting alcohol and tobacco data among 3rd and 4th grade students: A randomized...; 2005; McCabe, S. E., Boyd, C. J., Young, A., Crawford, S. D., Pope, D.
- Exploring users' attitudes and intentions toward the web as a survey tool; 2005; Huang, H.-M., Liaw, S. S.
- Web Surveys for Electronic Commerce: A Review of the Literature; 2004; Huang, H.-M., Liaw, S. S.
- Comparison of web and mail surveys in collecting illicit drug use data: a randomized experiment; 2004; McCabe, S. E.
- Use and non-use of clarification features in web surveys; 2003; Tourangeau, R., P., Couper, M. P., Conrad, F. G., Baker, R. P.