Harnessing technology when adapting face-to-face survey questions for the web |
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| Coordinator 1 | Ms Renee Stepler (U.S. Census Bureau) |
| Coordinator 2 | Dr Jennifer Sinibaldi (U.S. Census Bureau) |
Due to the rising cost of field data collection and changing social dynamics, many face-to-face surveys have begun adding web survey modes. One of the challenges when converting face-to-face questions to the web is how to best simulate the interviewer’s role in the response process. Some face-to-face surveys ask about complex topics and rely on interviewers to share technical information with respondents to assist them in answering the questions. Many surveys have optional text for the interviewers to read or additional help text they may share with the respondents when needed. Web surveys offer opportunities to harness technology to enhance the respondents’ experience and the accuracy of their responses. For example, adaptations can be made to face-to-face questions to provide visual cues, such as images or videos, to assist the respondent in providing an answer.
This session aims to share research about innovations and adaptations when moving from face-to-face to web survey questionnaires.
Contributions for this session may cover, but are not limited to the following research topics:
- Using images to assist respondents in answering questions
- Presenting videos during a web survey
- Implementing event history calendars or other visualizations to help with recall
- Displaying text on the web that was previously read at the interviewer’s discretion
- Sharing information previously displayed on show cards
- How to display help text (e.g. hyperlinks, hovering, drop downs, etc.) that is usually provided by interviewers
- Using confirmation screens or consistency checks during a web survey