Katja Lozar Manfreda

Web Surveys versus other Survey Modes: A Meta-Analysis Comparing Response Rates:

Web surveys are often discussed as a supplement, sometimes also as an alternative to traditional survey modes where response rates are tending to decline (e.g. de Leeuw & de Heer 2002; Roster et al . 2004; Evans & Mathur 2005). However, also in web surveys there is the problem of non-response (Couper 2000; Vehovar et al . 2002). For example, over-surveying internet users may negatively impact on their willingness to participate. The activity of direct marketers with their unsolicited email practices (spam) may also have a negative influence on responses to web surveys. In addition, the methodology of web surveys is probably still not sufficiently developed to take full advantage of the possibilities available, although extensive research efforts are being made in this direction (e.g. Frick et al . 1999; Tuten et al . 1999/2000; Dillman 2000).

Design of Web Survey Questionnaires: Three Basic Experiments

Despite increased use of Web surveys, relatively little is known about standards for designing Web questionnaires. Since there is no help from an interviewer for the respondent taking a Web survey, the design of self-administered Web questionnaires is even more important in order to achieve high data quality. Question wording, form and graphic layout of the questionnaire are particularly important. This paper presents some basic experiments to address these issues: one vs. multiple-page design, use of logotypes, and survey topic. The research was performed within the national RIS – Research on Internet in Slovenia - project (http://www.ris.org) in extensive testing since 1996.

The social support networks of internet users

The available research indicates mixed results regarding the internet’s role in social relations. The article contributes to this research by studying the provision of support in egocentred social networks. Data regarding size, structure and communication channels were assessed through two specially designed surveys. The results show that the internet has a relatively limited impact on social relationships. Internet users have slightly larger social networks only in certain socially de-privileged segments (e.g. divorced, less educated). However, they reveal some specifics with respect to the structure of networks (more friends and less kin, weaker ties) and communication channels (typically the internet is used as a complement). The article also illustrates certain serious problems when drawing a causal inference from non-experimental data.

Measuring ego-centered social networks on the web: Questionnaire design issues

Abstract Collecting survey data on ego-centered social networks is a difficult task, owing to the complex questionnaire format. Usually, the interviewer handles the dynamics of the question–answer exchange, motivates the respondent and ensures the proper recording of the data. Self-administered modes of data collection, especially web data collection, are more problematic, as the respondents are left alone with a complex and burdensome questionnaire. Therefore, questionnaire layout is crucial for ensuring cooperation and data quality. In this paper we examined three key components of the corresponding web questionnaire: the number of name boxes using a single name generator, question format for assessing alter characteristics (i.e. alter-wise vs. question-wise) and number of name interpreters (i.e. alter characteristics). The number of name boxes was found to be essential for the reported size of social networks and also for some aspects of data quality. Specific data quality effects were also found with respect to variations in question format, where question-wise format performed better than alter-wise. The number of name interpreters had a relatively minor effect. Suggestions for possible standardization of the web interface layout are also given, so that equivalence with other data collection modes can be established.

Sensitivity of Electronic Commerce Measurement to the Survey Instrument

Sample surveys are increasingly being used to measure electronic commerce activities. They often play a key role in efforts to describe and understand e-commerce phenomena, particularly in respect to attitudes, motives, and intentions. This paper studies establishment surveys of e-commerce, focusing especially on the sensitivity of the results to the measurement instrument. Several survey modes are compared, with special attention to the Web as a possible alternative to more expensive telephone and mail data-collection techniques. Controlled experiments show that e-commerce survey topics are sensitive to the measurement instrument, and especially to the Web questionnaire. In consequence, precise elaboration of the methodology is important when interpreting survey findings related to e-commerce.

The effect of email invitation elements on response rate in a web survey within an online community

In the research of online communities and web survey methodology little is known about how elements in email invitations to list-based web surveys can be used to obtain higher response rates. In the present work, we investigated whether making authority, plea for help, and sense of community salient in email invitations determines the response of survey participants. Drawing from both survey methodology and recent research on online communities, this study also tested a hypothesis on the relationship between activity in an online community and survey response. Using a full-factorial experiment based on a simple random sample of 2500 members from the largest online health community in Slovenia, the results support only the hypothesis that plea for help is an effective response-inducing element in email invitations. Furthermore, the results support the hypotheses that online community activity, related to the frequency of visits and number of posts to an online community, are positively associated with response in list-based web survey. Since this study also shows that combining more than one element in email invitations does not necessary improve response rates, web survey research and practice may benefit from future research on this topic. We experiment with content of email invitations to web survey in online community.Authority, plea for help, and sense of community are tested as soliciting elements.Plea for help in an email invitation increases the response rate.Using more than one element does not necessary improve the response rate.Visits and posts to online community are positively related to the response rate.

Mobile Phones in an Environment of Competing Survey Modes: Applying Metric for Evaluation of Costs and Errors

In recent years, mobile phones have become an increasingly important component in survey data collection. This holds true for self-administered questionnaires and particularly for interview surveys, where mobile phones enforce the combination with other survey modes. However, whether to include mobile phones in a particular survey design depends on complex cost—error relationships. To address this issue, the authors elaborate a metric—based on a product of costs and estimates of survey errors—that is then used for post survey comparison of design alternatives. The authors illustrate this approach with a simulation study using parameters from empirical research. The results show that such evaluation can potentially change the selection of the preferred design option compared to situations where only some of the components (e.g., response rate, nonresponse bias) are used for evaluation. More specifically, the decision about the inclusion of mobile phones predominantly depends on their bias-removing potential, while it is much less sensitive to changes in costs and other error parameters.

Data Collected on the Web

Despite its relatively short existence Web-assisted data collection has already been widely applied and, increasingly, data analysts have to work with data collected on the Web. However, we are faced with relatively contradictory views on this data collection mode. In particular, with respect to Web surveys, opinions vary from a belief that the Web will revolutionise the survey industry to the opinion that this does not represent a valid mode of data collection. This paper provides an overview of the methodology of professional Web surveys. Three essential components (self-administration, HTML basis, and automatic transmission) of the Web survey mode are defined and separated from related solicitation and selection procedures. As an illustration, the segmentation/clustering of Internet users with respect to the survey mode (telephone and Web) is presented. In addition, new possibilities for data collection on the Web are discussed, particularly as concerns the data used in network and clustering analysis.