The World Wide Web (WWW) is increasingly being used as a tool and platform for survey research. Two types of electronic or online surveys available for data collection are the email and Web based survey, and they constitute the focus of this paper. We address a multitude of issues researchers should consider before and during the use of this method of data collection: advantages and liabilities with this form of survey research, sampling problems, questionnaire design considerations, suggestions in approaching potential respondents, response rates and aspects of data processing. Where relevant, the methodological issues involved are illustrated with examples from our own research practice. This methods review shows that most challenges are resolved when taking into account the principles that guide the conduct of conventional surveys.

Conducting online surveys

Recent developments in communication technologies have created alternative survey methods through e-mail and Web sites. Both methods use electronic text communication, require fewer resources, and provide faster responses than traditional paper and pencil methods. However, new survey methodologies also generate problems involving sampling, response consistency and participant motivation. Empirical studies need to be done to address these issues as researchers implement electronic survey methods.



In this study we conduct an analysis of the characteristics of three survey response modes: post, e-mail, and Web site. Data are from a survey of the National Association of Science Writers (NASW), in which science writers' professional use of e-mail and the Web is evaluated.



Our analysis offers two lessons. First, a caution. We detect a number of potentially important differences in the response characteristics of these three groups. Researchers using multi-mode survey techniques should keep in mind that subtle effects might be at play in their analyses. Second, an encouragement. We do not observe significant influences of survey mode in our substantive analyses. We feel, at least in this case, that the differences detected in the response groups indicate that using multi-mode survey techniques improved the representativeness of the sample without biasing other results.

Comparative Response to a Survey Executed by Post, E-mail, & Web Form

Undergraduates' perceptions of tourism and hospitality as a career choice.

Survey method matters

Even though e-mail is the most widely used computer-mediated communication medium, its considerable potential as a survey technique has received little attention from management scholars. Using a three-dimensional framework focused on sampling issues, nonsampling errors, and comparative performance, the authors review and integrate previous research on the electronic survey technique and provide an assessment of the comparative trade-offs vis-a-vis other techniques. Moreover, they provide recommendations for future researchers interested in using this approach. Finally, they conclude that although this approach poses unique challenges and drawbacks, when an unbiased sampling frame exists or can be constructed, it allows researchers to inexpensively gather data with less effort than other available approaches.

The Electronic Survey Technique: An Integration and Assessment

Over the past few decades, the computer has played an increasingly large role in the collection of survey data The primary focus of computers in survey research, however, has been in computer- assisted telephone interviewing The use of computers in the elicitation of responses directly from the respondent has been the focus of increasing efforts in recent years but still remains relatively undeveloped Although there have been previous attempts at investigating the effects of introducing computerized self-administered surveys among adolescents, no such investigation has been attempted in a school-based survey to our knowledge The authors examine methods and issues from the Minnesota Student Survey Mode Effects Experiment—an on-line versus paper-and-pencil comparison from a large school survey of adolescents Some of the issues include comparability with paper-and- pencil versions and data collection issues, such as computer literacy, security, and case management

Computerized School Surveys: Design and Development Issues

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Computerized School Surveys: Design and Development Issues