internet-based.org/internet-polls/
Questionnaires are used to gather data in a research study. Certain questionnaires incorporate open and closed questions while others may mix both. Questions that are open give respondents the freedom to respond in their own words. Closed questions provide an array of predetermined answers which they can pick from. Questionnaires can also be accessed via postal mail, phone or online.
Surveys using online questionnaires have become more popular, but it’s important to ensure the data obtained are accurate and reliable. To do this researchers must be able accurately gauge response rates and monitor the number of respondents to the survey. The researcher must also be able identify possible reasons for why someone might not respond and address the reasons (e.g. sampling bias).
Online questionnaires are also cheaper than traditional methods. This makes them a desirable alternative to traditional questionnaire based research. However this method isn’t free of challenges. Online questionnaires can be difficult to analyze for their reliability and validity and can cause social desirability impacts in the sample of respondents.
Fortunately, there are many methods to limit the negative impact of these limitations on online questionnaires as well as web-based experiments. This article discusses specific strategies that researchers can use to improve the reliability and quality of their online questionnaires. These include: (i), paying participants immediately after they finish the survey has an lower response rate than waiting for all responses or an intermediary process; (iii), asking participants to fill in their names so that receipt preparation does not decrease or enhance social appeal; and (iv) framing the fixed portion of a participant’s payment as»for complete the survey» and providing feedback on progress enhances the quality of responses