This paper presents results from an experimental manipulation of one versus multiple-items per screen format in a Web survey. The purpose of the experiment was to find out if a questionnaire s format influences how respondents provide answers in online questionnaires and if this is depending on personal characteristics. Four different formats were used, varying the number of items on a screen (1, 4, 10, and 40 items). To test how robust the results were, and to find out whether or not a specific format shows more deviation in answer scores, the experiment was repeated. We found that mean scores, variances and correlations do not differ much in the different formats. In addition, formats show the same deviation of item scores between repeated experiments. In relation to non-response error, we found that the more items appear on a single screen, the higher the number of people with one or more missing values. Placing more items on a single screen a) shortens the duration of the interview, b) negatively influences the respondent's evaluation of the duration of the interview, c) negatively influences the respondent's evaluation of the layout, and d) increases the difficulty in completing the interview. We also found that scrolling negatively influences the evaluation of a questionnaire's layout. Furthermore, the results show that differences between formats are influenced by personal characteristics.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Publisher Info
Paper provided by Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research in its series Discussion Paper with number
114.
Find related papers by JEL classification: C42 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Survey Methods C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Microeconomic Data C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
Cited by: (explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)