Tuesday 16th July
Wednesday 17th July
Thursday 18th July
Friday 19th July
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Envisioning the "survey" of the future: the role of smartphones and other technologies in advancing the practice of survey research 1 |
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| Convenor | Miss Femke De Keulenaer (Gallup Europe) |
| Coordinator 1 | Mr Robert Manchin (Gallup Europe) |
| Coordinator 2 | Mr Henk Fernee (The Netherlands Institute for Social Research/SCP) |
Technological developments, such as the rise of social media, the smartphone, voice recognition and eye-tracking, combined with an explosion in the kinds of data being harvested from the Internet means that what survey researchers now have to work with as "raw data" is very different from 10 years ago.
The focus of this session is the role that technology plays in advancing the practice of survey research; topics could include, but are not limited to the following areas:
- Nowadays, people communicate with each other using various media, such as smartphones, mobile instant messaging, blogs, picture-sharing, wall-postings etc. Individuals' communication media of choice, however, are extremely diverse among different population groups; how can survey researchers accommodate these preferences when collecting information?
- Combining and analysing multiple sources of data with survey data, particularly where "unconventional" data are collected such as smartphone data, geospatial data, mobile instant messaging data, pictures or other attachments contributed by survey respondents.
- Experiences in making data collected via mobile behavioural apps, eye-tracking and facial expression devices etc. relevant and viable as data sources for research. How can this type of data be collected and analysed in the framework of population-based experiments?
- Another promising application of technology is as a direct assistant to the interviewer. Experiences in using portable devices to display maps and geospatial information, and ways to simplify mobile entry of data and access to information for the interviewer (such as by using speech commands etc.).
4th organizer: Dr. Eric Harrison, Eric.Harrison.2@city.ac.uk, City University
In this presentation, respondent behavior is compared between a mobile device-assisted web survey and a computer-assisted web survey. We present our findings on survey means, response rate, subjective and objective survey completion time, survey satisfaction, respondent location during survey completion and preferred device to access the Internet.
The research was conducted in the CentERpanel, consisting of over 2,000 households, which complete questionnaires through the Internet. First we investigated which panel members possessed a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet. Then, the mobile device users were randomly allocated into one of three conditions: 1) conventional computer-assisted web survey, 2) mobile web survey with an adjusted layout, and 3) a hybrid version: a computer-assisted web survey with a layout similar to the mobile survey.
Comparing survey results between these groups, we conclude that survey completion on mobile devices need not lead to different results than on computers, but there are differences in response rate and survey completion time. We also discuss the design choices and dilemma's typical for small screen size and touchscreens.
According to ESOMAR annual reports online panel research is the number one research methodology in market research since 2008 worldwide (based on revenue). In online panel research voluntary panels are the most common, where potential participants register in advance with their personal socio-demographic and other relevant data in the panel and then later receive invitations (with links) to certain surveys by e-mail (only if they part of the target group).
This model lately was challenged by many changes especially in e-mail usage habits, transition of interpersonal communication from e-mails to social media and appearance of smartphones and tablets. Thanks to these respondents less likely use traditional e-mail in PC environment, hence part of them don't even see the survey invitations coming from the panel other part click on them and try to fill the questionnaires with smartphone or tablet. In case of smartphones the smaller screen, usually less time of respondents, limitations of mobile browser technologies etc. holds further barriers which have impact on survey design and survey length.
My paper examines the above mentioned main challenges and at the same time tries to offer possible solutions to combine online panel methodology with mobile tools. From this combination new "rules" may arise which are worthwhile to follow in survey design, maintenance of online research system in order to keep the functionality of online panels.
In The Netherlands time use data are collected by using paper self-completion diaries. Respondents report in their own words their activities for a one week period in consecutive time-slots of ten minutes. Keeping such a detailed diary is a burdensome activity with risks of recall problems if the respondent is not completing the diary regularly during the day.
Current technology, such as smartphones and "apps", allows time-use research to be set up in a completely different way. Smartphone users have (almost) permanently access to this device, so respondents can report their activities at multiple times per day, resulting in less recall problems. In addition to time-use data other information about the respondent can be collected, such as GPS and pop-up questions which allow us to ask people at random intervals how they feel at that moment (Experience Sampling).
This presentation will show first results from time-use data collected with smartphones which is currently is in the field till October 2013. The data are collected from the LISS panel, an online panel operated by CentERdata, which is based on a probability sample. Panel members who do not own a smartphone are able to borrow one from CentERdata. Special focus is on differences between experienced and inexperienced smartphone users. More generally it will discuss the advantages and difficulties in using a smartphone for data collection.
In social science research technological progression in high-tech and mobile tools enables catching up with diverse groups of participants easier than earlier. In diary studies, participants report their moods and interactions typically either once or several times a day over a period of one or two weeks. Such an approach allows researchers better possibilities to study short-lived events and the daily and weekly variation and transmission of emotions. In family research, the diary method makes it possible to study all the family members at the same time and thus pay attention to their individual points of view. However, the existing daily diary studies have mostly focused on adults and adolescents, with only a small minority researching young children.
In this paper we introduce a mobile diary application specially developed for collecting data from children under seven years old and from their caretakers (parents, day-care personnel). The application sends questions both for adults and children three times a day over one week period. In the application a fairy-tale character "Illi" helps and motivates the child to report daily moods and activities by mobile phone. The questions are spoken and the child answers by speaking or pushing icons. The application also makes answering possible in different contexts, in this case both at home and in two types of day care. In this paper we also describe how the data collection was arranged and discuss different possibilities to analyse the mobile diary data.