Call For Papers Proposals - The 5th Conference of the European Survey Research Association (ESRA) Ljubljana, Slovenia 15-19 July 2013
Jan 07 2013
Mixed Mode or Mixed Device? Surveying In A New Technological Era
Web surveys are now morphing from a computer-oriented into a multi-device concept. This means that self-administered computer assisted surveys may be completed through the Internet, on a tablet, or smart phone. This also means that survey researchers have to design for different situations. Mario Callegaro (Google, UK) and Edith de Leeuw (Utrecht University, MOA) are organizing a session on Mixed Mode or Mixed Device? Surveying In A New Technological Era for the coming ESRA conference. This fifth conference of the European Survey Research Association (ESRA) will take place in Ljubjana, the capital of beautiful Slovenia (July 15-19, 2013).
We would like to encourage you to submit an abstract for this session. Please, feel free to forward this call to others who may be interested in this session. A more detailed description of the session is given below. We also give an instruction on how to submit abstracts through the ESRA website at the end of this message.
Description of Session
Due to growing Internet coverage and increased emphasis on survey costs, web surveys have become an important part of the survey landscape. In the past years several handbooks have been published on designing effective web surveys. However, a new technological challenge is facing survey designers. Modern society has become more interactive and especially the younger generation is now geared to the potential of being online at will, be it through laptop, smart phone, or tablet. Web surveys are morphing from a computer-oriented into a multi-device concept. How to design quality surveys for this new situation? In the past, attention has been paid to the optimal design of questionnaires for mixed-mode surveys, and we may learn from it. But, here a new situation is created. We do not have a mixed-mode in the traditional sense, where two discrete modes (e.g., self-administered visual mode vs. telephone aural mode). We have one overall data collection principle: a self-administered survey meant to be completed on web, tablet, or smart phone. This means that traditional question formats, such as grids, or long rating scales are no longer appropriate as they add to a device specific measurement error. Also, customs associated with the use of different devices (e.g., quick exchange of information through a tweet on a mobile device vs. more detailed information through facebook or e-mail) may influence length of questionnaire, break-offs and nonresponse. This session invites presentations that investigate how different devices may be combined and influence different sources of survey errors. We particularly invite presentations that discuss how different survey errors can be reduced by optimal design of the questionnaires. Randomized experiments or quasi-experiments where the difference across devices due to self-selection is taken account in the statistical analysis are welcomed. Key words: computer, tablet, smart phone, measurement error, visual lay-out, screen design.
Instructions to submit an abstract
An abstract of your proposed paper needs to be submitted on the ESRA website by January 13, 2013. To do so go to http://www.
If you already have an ESRA account just login, otherwise you will need to click on the words "Create account" and then simply follow the directions. You will be asked to select an area of surveymethodology when you submit the abstract. Please select the session "Survey Mode" and further "Mixed Mode or Mixed Device? Surveying In A New Technological Era" Also, please send a copy of that abstract (which is limited to 250 words) to one of us by email.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact me Mario Callegaro at mario.callegaro@gmail.com or Edith de Leeuw; edithl@xs4all.nl
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