What do we Lose with Online-Only Surveys? Estimating the Bias in Selected Political Variables Due to Online Mode Restriction
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8021024 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Klaus Pforr (0000-0002-6300-8224, GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, corresponding author), Tanja Dannwolf (University of Kaiserslautern) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 105-120 |
| Publication date | 2017-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Statistics Politics and Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2151-7509 • E-ISSN: 2194-6299 |
| Publisher | De Gruyter (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1515/spp-2016-0004 |
| OpenAlex | W2766508051 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 23 |
This paper adds to the discussion on the value of online surveys for political science research. Mainly because of the lower costs, collecting survey data over the web has become increasingly popular in recent years, despite the higher sampling and coverage error in web-only surveys, especially online access polls. Recruiting respondents for the actual panel surveys based on a representative sample using a different mode is regarded as a solution to the sampling problem. Two approaches have been used to tackle the problem of coverage error: Providing respondents with computers (e.g. LISS, ELIPPS, GIP) and offering a different mode than online to respondents, thereby adopting a mixed mode design (e.g. paper as in GALLUP, GESIS Panel). The literature suggests that offering participation in the respondent’s preferred mode affects response rates positively but not much is known about respondents’ reasoning to choose a specific mode. We argue that it is important to understand this decision to evaluate the selection into online surveys and the consequences this has for data quality. We investigate this question by drawing on data from the GESIS Panel face-to-face recruitment interview for building a mixed mode access panel (paper and web) in Germany that gave a mode choice to internet users. Our results suggest that web literacy, age and education alone do not explain the mode choice but that affinity towards the technology related to the online mode has an independent effect. In a second step, we analyse the effect of this selection mechanism on answers to questions on typical variables used in political participation research such as media competence, political interest and civic duty in the subsequent mixed mode survey. We assess the added value of adopting a mixed-mode strategy. The results inform the evaluation of biases in unimode online surveys
Econometrics · Economics · Mode (computer interface · Panel data · Political science · Quality (philosophy · Respondent · Sample (material · Selection (genetic algorithm · Selection bias · Statistics · Survey data collection · The Internet · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Mathematics · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Survey Methodology and Nonresponse
The Influence of a Person’s Digital Affinity on Unit Nonresponse and Attrition in an Online Panel
How Do Internet-Related Characteristics Affect Whether Members of a German Mixed-Mode Panel Switch from the Mail to the Web Mode
The Long-Term Impact of Different Offline Population Inclusion Strategies in Probability-Based Online Panels
The use of adjustment weights in voter surveys. Correcting for panel attrition and nonresponse can produce less accurate estimates of voting behavior
Gaining Consent to Survey Respondents' Partners
The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Design of Repeated Cross-Sectional and Panel Surveys in Germany
What about the Less IT Literate? A Comparison of Different Postal Recruitment Strategies to an Online Panel of the General Population
The Science of Web Surveys
Handbook of Nonresponse in Household Surveys
Designing Effective Web Surveys
Establishing an Open Probability-Based Mixed-Mode Panel of the General Population in Germany
Does the Recruitment of Offline Households Increase the Sample Representativeness of Probability-Based Online Panels? Evidence From the German Internet Panel
A Comparison of Four Probability-Based Online and Mixed-Mode Panels in Europe
Does the Inclusion of Non-Internet Households in a Web Panel Reduce Coverage Bias
Facing the Nonresponse Challenge
Nonresponse Rates and Nonresponse Bias in Household Surveys
Computing Response Metrics for Online Panels
Does a Probability-Based Household Panel Benefit from Assignment to Postal Response as an Alternative to Internet-Only
Research Synthesis
Social Desirability Bias in Cati, IVR, and Web Surveys
Comparing the Accuracy of RDD Telephone Surveys and Internet Surveys Conducted with Probability and Non-Probability Samples
Does Survey Mode Still Matter? Findings from a 2010 Multi-Mode Comparison
Setting Up an Online Panel Representative of the General Population
Sample Composition Discrepancies in Different Stages of a Probability-based Online Panel
| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,88 |
| Citation span | 2018 - 2025 (8) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |