Are respondents ready for audio and voice communication channels in online surveys?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Technological advancements and changes in online survey participation pave the way for new data collection methods. Particularly, the increasing smartphone rate in online surveys facilitates a re-consideration of prevailing communication channels to, for instance, naturalize the communication process between researchers and respondents and to collect more in-depth and high-quality data. However, so far, there is a lack of information on whether respondents are willing to undergo a change in communication channels. In this study, I therefore investigate respondents’ willingness to participate in online surveys with a smartphone to have the survey questions read out loud (audio channel) and to give oral answers via voice input (voice channel). For this purpose, I employed two willingness questions – one on audio and one on voice channels – in the probability-based German Internet Panel (N = 4,426). The results reveal that a substantial minority of respondents is willing to participate in online surveys with a smartphone to have the survey questions read out loud and to give oral answers via voice input. They also show that the device used for survey participation and personality traits, such as conscientiousness and extraversion, play a role when it comes to respondents’ willingness.