Long online-only questionnaire and respondents’ perceived survey burden

Findings from the first wave of the UK Generations and Gender Survey (GGS)

Bibliographic Data

ID24230102
AuthorsOlga Maslovskaya (0000-0003-3814-810X, University of Southampton), Grace Chang (0000-0002-9726-6379, University of Oxford), Brienna Perelli-Harris (University of Southampton)
Year2026
Pages1-19
Publication date2026-10-13
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Social Research Methodology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1364-5579 • E-ISSN: 1464-5300
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13645579.2026.2746336
OpenAlexW7221765069
LanguageEN
References cited18

As surveys increasingly adopt mixed-mode designs, with self-completion modes playing a key role, questions arise about maintaining data quality, particularly regarding survey length. This study examines whether the relationship between perceived survey burden and length aligns with the ‘longer-is-worse’ hypothesis. Using data from the UK Generations and Gender Survey, featuring a long and complex online-only questionnaire, we assess respondents’ perception of burden. Results demonstrate a clear association between actual and perceived survey duration. However, those who completed the survey quickly were just as likely to perceive it as longer or shorter than expected and were more likely to report it as very or extremely difficult compared with respondents in the median duration group. They were also less likely to consent to future waves. These findings suggest that while longer surveys are not inherently problematic for engaged respondents, other aspects of perceived burden warrant further exploration when designing online surveys.

respondent engagement · survey duration · survey length · Mobile Crowdsensing and Crowdsourcing · Survey Methodology and Nonresponse · Survey Sampling and Estimation Techniques

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access