Response Effects in the Electronic Survey

Abstract

IN ALL SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOR the available tools affect the questions one can ask and the data one can collect. In this report, we examine a new tool in survey research, the electronic or computer-mediated survey. In the last two decades, electronic computers have come to figure in many phases of survey research-instrument design, sampling, moni- toring of work in the field, coding and editing, data entry, data clean- ing, scale and index construction, data base organization, data base retrieval, statistical analysis, documentation, and report writing (Kar- Abstract This report examines the electronic survey as a research tool. In an electronic survey, respondents use a text processing program to self-administer a computer-based questionnaire. As more people have access to computers, electronic surveys may be- come widespread. The electronic survey can reduce processing costs because it auto- mates the transformation of raw data into computer-readable form. It can combine advantages of interviews (e.g., prompts, complex branching) with those of paper mail surveys (e.g., standardization, anonymity). An important issue is how the electronic survey affects the responses of people who use it. We conducted an experimental sample survey on health attitudes, behaviors, and personal traits using two forms of administra- tion: electronic and paper mail. Closed-end responses in the electronic survey were less socially desirable and tended to be more extreme than were responses in the paper survey. Open-ended responses that could be edited by respondents were relatively long and disclosing. These findings are consistent with other research on computer-mediated communication, raising general issues about using computers to collect self-report data. Sara Kiesler is a Professor of Social Sciences and Social Psychology, and Lee Sproull