Optimal design in mobile web surveys

Aigul Mavletova told about her new mobile web experiment on the meeting of the research group on May14. The experiment was conducted in collaboration with Mick Couper, University of Michigan and supported by the partner of our research group – Online Market Intelligence.

Aigul Mavletova told about her new mobile web experiment on the meeting of the research group on May14. The experiment was conducted in collaboration with Mick Couper, University of Michigan and supported by the partner of our research group – Online Market Intelligence.

While her previous mobile web experiments focused on comparing data quality between PC and mobile web surveys, her current research focuses on finding the ways to improve response rates in mobile web surveys. The experiment explores how survey design (scrolling or paging) and invitation mode (SMS or e-mail) have an impact on response rates in mobile web surveys. To examine these effects, an experiment using a volunteer online access panel in Russia was conducted. Members of Online Market Intelligence mobile web subpanel were randomly invited to fill out the questionnaire via mobile phone. A total of 2,110 respondents completed the survey.

There were two main findings in the experiment. First, scrolling design was more efficient in terms of completion time, lower break off rate, and less number of technical problems respondents faced while completing the survey. Second, SMS invitation was more efficient compared to e-mail invitation. Overall, the experiment illustrates the possibilities to improve response rates and respondent experience in mobile web surveys.