Web Survey Bibliography
Title The Effects of Cash, Electronic, and Paper Gift Certificates as Respondent Incentives for a Web-Based Survey of Technologically Sophisticated Respondents
Author Birnholtz, J. P., Horn, D. B., Finholt, T. A., Bae, S. J.
Source The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) 58th Annual Conference, 2003, Social Science Computer Review, 22, 3, pp. 355-362
Year 2003
Database OCLC ECO, SAGE Journals Online
Access date 07.05.2004
Abstract A sample of 434 academic earthquake engineering faculty, staff, and students were asked to complete a web-based survey on work practices. Overall response was 43%. Each participant was contacted with a prepayment incentive in one of three ways: 1. A $5 bill sent with the survey instructions via US Mail, 2. A $5 gift certificate code to Amazon.com sent with the survey instructions via US Mail, or 3. A $5 gift certificate code to Amazon.com sent with the survey instructions via email. The results indicate that a $5 bill sent via US Mail led to significantly higher response rates than either gift certificate condition (43% to 31% Gift Certificate via US Mail and 25% Gift Certificate via email, Chi-Square (2) = 9.2, p = .01). A previous survey conducted on this community without respondent incentives had a response rate of 36%. This indicates that only cash, and not gift certificates, led to a significant increase in response rate. Moreover, we did not see an effect of communication modality on response rate for the gift certificate conditions despite the added burden of typing in a web site address for the US Mail recipients. These data indicate that, compared to online or paper gift certificates, cash is a superior incentive for an online survey, even for a technologically sophisticated sample. This may be due to the perceived limitations, delayed payoff or reduced visibility of online gift certificates.
Year of publication2003
Bibliographic typeJournal article
Conferences, workshops, tutorials, presentations
Conferences, workshops, tutorials, presentations
Web Survey Bibliography - Canada (110)
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- Enhancing the Travel Survey Process and Data Using the CATI System ; 2008; Morency, C.
- Between random samples and online panels; 2008; Crassweller, A., Rogers, J.
- Client run panels & web 2.0; 2008; Byam, A., Smith, J., Sykes, E.
- Use of a website to evaluate quality of work-life and quality of life among community workers helping...; 2008; Dupuis, G.
- 2006 Canadian Census Internet Mode Effect Study; 2008; Grondin, C., Sun, L.,
- Response Audit of an Internet Survey of Health Care Providers and Administrators: Implications for Determination...; 2008; Dobrow, M. J., Orchard, M. C., Golden, B.; Holowaty, E., Paszat, L., Brown, A. D., Sullivan, T.
- Web survey and representativeness: Close to three in ten Canadians do not have access to the Internet...; 2007; Bourque, C., Lafrance, S.
- An Internet-Based Stated Choices Household Survey for Alternative Fuelled Vehicles ; 2007; Potoglou, D., Kanaroglou, P. S.
- ONLINE DATA COLLECTION – SOLUTION OR BAND-AID?; 2007; Crassweller, A., Williams, D., Thompson, I.
- An Approach to Compare Online Survey Generating Tools; 2007; Zhang, J., Zhao, N.
- Internet and written respiratory questionnaires yield equivalent results for adolescents; 2007; Raat, H.,Mangunkusumo, R. T., Mohangoo, A. D., Juniper, E. F., Van Der Lei, J.
- What Difference Do Guidelines Make? An Observational Study of Online-questionnaire Design Guidelines...; 2006; Lumsden, J., Flinn, S., Anderson, M., Morgan, W.
- Privacy laws, internet scams and other challenges affecting panel research Strategies to mitigate risk...; 2006; Stark, D.
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- Online-Questionnaire Design: Establishing Guidelines and Evaluating Existing Support; 2005; Lumsden, J., Morgan, W.
- Sex, gender and self-concept: Understanding Internet usage rates for relationship-building applications...; 2005; Hupfer, M. E., Detlor, B.
- Challenges of Internet Recruitment: A Case Study with Disappointing Results; 2005; Koo, M., Skinner, H.
- Understanding the question-answer process; 2004; Bradburn, N. M.
- Internet Versus Mailed Questionnaires: A Randomized Comparison (2); 2004; Leece, P., Bhandari, M., Swiontkowski, M., Schemitsch, E., Tornetta, P., Devereaux, P. J., Guyatt, G...
- Conducting market research using the Internet: the case of Xenon Laboratories; 2004; Lockett, A., Blackman, I.
- Nurses' autonomy: influence of nurse managers' actions; 2004; Mrayyan, M. T.
- Comparison of the quality of qualitative data obtained through telephone, postal and email surveys; 2004; Coderre, F., St-Laurent, N., Mathieu, A.
- Web/Electronic Surveys: Description of Electronic Data Reporting Processes at Statistics Canada (Past...; 2004; Dubois, M. A.
- Applying New Methodologies in a Longitudinal Study of Young Conservative Jews; 2004; Keysar, A., Kosmin, B.
- Ethical Dilemmas in Research on Internet Communities; 2004; Flicker, S., Haans, D., Skinner, H.
- Hotlists and Web browsing behavior - an empirical investigation; 2004; Thakor, M. V., Borsuk, W., Kalamas, M.
- The Canadian experience in developing an outdoor reach & frequency model. Getting from there to here...; 2003; Falbo, M. E., van der Burgt, J.
- First installation of a virtual CATI phone room with full telephony integration; 2003; Tanguay, L.
- Achieving high response rates on web-based surveys of post-secondary students; 2003; Nichols, L.B., Ghadialy, R.
- The Effects of Cash, Electronic, and Paper Gift Certificates as Respondent Incentives for a Web-Based...; 2003; Birnholtz, J. P., Horn, D. B., Finholt, T. A., Bae, S. J.
- Comparing Internet “River,” Internet; 2003; Feld, K. G.
- Design implementation of a Multimode Web Survey; 2003; Wine, S.J., Cominole, M.B., Carwile, D.S., Perry, K.
- Partnering with a Newspaper to Assess Community Opinion Online; 2003; Downs, E.P., Lindley, A.M.
- Implementing a Web Survey Administration System at the GAO; 2003; Feldesman, A.G.
- Using Internet-Based Surveys With Physicians, What Works and What Doesn't Work; 2003; Schneiderman, M., Thran, S., Adams, C., Lerner, B.
- Using RGI (Respondent Generated Interval) to gather factual information in a web survey; 2003; Lusinchi, P.D.
- Can What We Don’t Know (about “Don’t Know”) Hurt Us?: Effects of Item Non-response...; 2003; Krosnick, J. A., Behnke, C. S., Lafond, C.R., Thomas, R. K.
- Web-Based Surveys for Data Gathering from Medical Educators: An Exploration of the Efficacy and Impact...; 2002; Lee, C., Frank, J. R., Cole, G., Mikhael, N. Z., Miles, C. A.
- An Evaluation of Nonresponse Bias in Internet Surveys Conducted Using the Knowledge Networks Panel; 2002; Seryakova, K., Dennis, J. M., Huggins, V. J.
- Assessment of Mode-Effects in a Web-enabled Study of Civic Attitudes; 2002; Laird, G., Wiebe, E. F., Thalji, L., Pulliam, P.
- Government Perspective on Data Stewardship for Statistical Data; 2002; Brackstone, G., White, P.
- The Internet and Time Displacement: A Canadian Perspective; 2002; Pronovost, G.
- Privacy Perceptions and Online Practices; 2002; Viseu, A., Clement, A., Aspinall, J.
- The Digital Divide, Individuals and Governance: Opportunities and Challenges; 2002; Reddick, A.

