Surveys as communication : it's not just what you ask, but how you ask it
As survey rates decline, survey researchers must consider the factors leading to reductions in response rates, especially the respondent's survey-taking experience. This research sought to study the effects of question type and involvement on a number of outcomes of survey participation. Respondents participated in an online survey experiment about one of four issues (universal health care, same-sex marriage, copyrighted music file-sharing, or space exploration) in one of two question formats (open- or closed-ended). Regression analysis was used to test the effect of these variables on time to complete the survey, feelings of self-expression, fatigue, survey enjoyment, willingness to endorse a related campaign, and willingness to participate in a future survey. Results demonstrate that using open-ended survey questions may increase the self-expression of the respondent. This increase in self-expression may lead to more survey enjoyment and a greater willingness to participate in future surveys. This study also found that asking open-ended survey questions may interact with self-expression to increase the willingness of the respondent to endorse a campaign related to the topic covered in the survey. While neither outcome- nor value-relevant involvement appeared to have strong effects on variables of interest, topic appeared to have an important role. Implications of these findings and considerations for future research are discussed.
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- In Collections
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Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Copyright Status
- In Copyright
- Material Type
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Theses
- Authors
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Risner, Geneviève
- Thesis Advisors
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Levine, Timothy
- Committee Members
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Bergan, Daniel
Park, Hee Sun
Kaplowitz, Stanley
- Date
- 2011
- Subjects
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Surveys
Psychological aspects
Public opinion
- Program of Study
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Communication
- Degree Level
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Doctoral
- Language
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English
- Pages
- viii, 82 pages
- ISBN
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9781124593197
1124593195
- Permalink
- https://doi.org/doi:10.25335/wk6d-1568