Investigating respondents’ willingness to participate in video-based web surveys

authored by: Jan Karem Höhne, Conrad Ziller, Timo Lenzner
Abstract: Recent developments in communication technology and changes in people’s communication habits facilitate new data collection forms in web surveys. Technical devices, such as computers, tablets, and smartphones, enable researchers to rethink established communication forms and add a human touch to web surveys. Designing web surveys more human-like has the great potential to make communication between researchers and respondents more natural, which may result in higher survey satisfaction and data quality. Considering the existing survey literature, there are only a few studies investigating respondents’ willingness for new communication forms in web surveys. Hence, in the present study, we explore respondents’ willingness to take part in web surveys to have interviewers read questions via pre-recorded videos (question delivery) and in which respondents provide their answers orally via self-recorded videos (question answering). We included two willingness questions – one on question delivery via pre-recorded videos and one on question answering via self-recorded videos – in the non-probability SoSci panel in Germany. The results reveal that respondents’ willingness to have questions read by interviewers is higher than their willingness to self-record video answers. Believing that technology facilitates communication and perceiving the survey as being interesting increases willingness, whereas evaluating the survey topic as sensitive decreases willingness. Personality traits do not play a role when it comes to respondents’ willingness, except for extraversion.
Organisation(s): Sociology Department
External Organisation(s): University of Duisburg-Essen
GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences
German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW)
Type: Article
Journal: International Journal of Market Research
Volume: 66
Pages: 3-13
No. of pages: 11
ISSN: 1470-7853
Publication date: 01.2024
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Business and International Management, Economics and Econometrics, Marketing
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.1177/14707853231198788 (Access: Open)

BibTeX

@article{ed4bab5d0efd49b58fc8ccf6f9623754,
title = "Investigating respondents{\textquoteright} willingness to participate in video-based web surveys",
abstract = "Recent developments in communication technology and changes in people{\textquoteright}s communication habits facilitate new data collection forms in web surveys. Technical devices, such as computers, tablets, and smartphones, enable researchers to rethink established communication forms and add a human touch to web surveys. Designing web surveys more human-like has the great potential to make communication between researchers and respondents more natural, which may result in higher survey satisfaction and data quality. Considering the existing survey literature, there are only a few studies investigating respondents{\textquoteright} willingness for new communication forms in web surveys. Hence, in the present study, we explore respondents{\textquoteright} willingness to take part in web surveys to have interviewers read questions via pre-recorded videos (question delivery) and in which respondents provide their answers orally via self-recorded videos (question answering). We included two willingness questions – one on question delivery via pre-recorded videos and one on question answering via self-recorded videos – in the non-probability SoSci panel in Germany. The results reveal that respondents{\textquoteright} willingness to have questions read by interviewers is higher than their willingness to self-record video answers. Believing that technology facilitates communication and perceiving the survey as being interesting increases willingness, whereas evaluating the survey topic as sensitive decreases willingness. Personality traits do not play a role when it comes to respondents{\textquoteright} willingness, except for extraversion.",
keywords = "automatic question reading, non-probability panel, respondent willingness, self-recording answers, survey devices, web surveys",
author = "H{\"o}hne, {Jan Karem} and Conrad Ziller and Timo Lenzner",
note = "Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The authors acknowledge support by the SoSci Panel ( www.soscipanel.de ) that conducted the data collection free of charge. ",
year = "2024",
month = jan,
doi = "10.1177/14707853231198788",
language = "English",
volume = "66",
pages = "3--13",
journal = "International Journal of Market Research",
issn = "1470-7853",
publisher = "Market Research Society",
number = "1",
}