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2.6.1 Internet surveys and studies
The internet is becoming an increasingly popular form of data collection, with
many benefits as it is quick to administer, flexible and inexpensive compared to mail
and phone surveys (Best, Krueger, Hubbard, & Smith, 2001). However, issues such as
internet accessibility, skill in computer use and privacy of personal information are of
concern. Studies have confirmed that younger respondents show a preference for
internet surveys over mail surveys (Lusk, Delclos, Burau, Drawhorn, & Aday, 2007),
(Kaplowitz, Hadlock, & Levine, 2004), but they can only be administered to those who
have access to the internet and those who have the skills to use it. This questions the
generalizability of internet surveys as they may not be representative of the entire
population being tested (Best et al., 2001). This is supported in a study that found
internet accessibility is strongly associated with younger age groups, demographic
variables, and male gender, suggesting the use of an internet survey may not yield a
representative sample (Couper, Kapteyn, & Schonlau, 2005).
Prior to the initial Youth2000 study, Watson et al. (2007) pilot tested (n =110)
the multimedia computer assisted self-administered survey using both desk top and
laptop computers to ascertain young peoples’ perceptions of this form of questionnaire
and concluded that it was an acceptable instrument for the administration of such a
survey.
2.6.2 Increasing participation
Higher compliance rates are associated with greater statistical power, lower
survey error, and are more representative of the target population thus producing results
that are more generalizable and higher in external validity (Lusk et al., 2007). Incentives
have shown to be effective in increasing response in internet surveys, a $10 incentive
provided greater than 20% response rate in one mailed survey (Rosoff et al., 2005).
Non-response rate to mail and internet surveys is often cited as a major disadvantage
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