RESEARCH METHOD COHEN ok

INTERNET-BASED SURVEYS 233
Box 10.1
continued
Problem: respondents
Respondents may be unfamiliar or
inexperienced with the Internet and the media.
Possible solution
Keep the questionnaire simple and easy to complete.
Chapter 10
Respondents may send multiple copies of their
completed questionnaire from the same or
different addresses.
There may be more than one respondent to a
single questionnaire (the same problem as in,
for example, a postal questionnaire).
Respondents may not be used to pull-down
menus.
The language of email surveys can risk offending
potential participants (‘flaming’).
Respondents’ difficulty in navigating the pages of
the online survey.
Problem: layout and presentation
Apageofpaperislongerthanitiswide,buta
screen is wider than it is long, and a screen is
smaller than a page, i.e. layout becomes a
matter of concern.
The layout of the text and instructions assumes
greater importance than for paper
questionnaires.
The layout uses a lot of grids and matrices.
The order of items affects response rates.
Have a security device that tracks and limits (as far as
possible) respondents who may be returning the same
questionnaire on more than one occasion. Use passwords
(though this, itself, may create problems of identifiability).
Collect personal identification items. Check for internal
consistency across submissions.
Include questions to cross-check the consistency of replies
to similar items.
Provide clear instructions.
Check the language used to avoid angering the participants.
Keep instructions to the page in question. Make the
instructions for branching very clear (font size, colour etc.).
Possible solution
Remember that screen-based surveys take a greater
number of screens than their equivalent number of pages in
apapercopy.Sectionalizethequestionnairesothateach
section fills the screen, and does not take more than one
screen.
Opt for clarity and simplicity.
Avoid grids and matrices: they are a major source of
non-response.
Locate requests for personal information at the beginning
of the survey. Include ‘warm-ups’ and early ‘high hurdles’ to
avoid dropout.
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