Item non-response rates: a comparison of online and paper questionnaires

Item non-response rates are a significant factor affecting the quality of questionnaire data. This article looks at the impact that the mode of administration might have on item non-response rates. Using closely matched groups of respondents (n = 466) it compares item non-response rates for near-ide...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of social research methodology Vol. 12; no. 4; pp. 281 - 291
Main Author: Denscombe, Martyn
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Routledge 01.10.2009
Subjects:
Data
fixed-choice questions
item non-response rates
Methodology (Data Analysis)
Methodology (Data Collection)
mode effect
online questionnaires
open-ended questions
Quality
Research Responses
Research Subjects
ISSN:1364-5579, 1464-5300
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Item non-response rates are a significant factor affecting the quality of questionnaire data. This article looks at the impact that the mode of administration might have on item non-response rates. Using closely matched groups of respondents (n = 466) it compares item non-response rates for near-identical versions of online and paper questionnaires. The research also analyses the difference between fixed-choice and open-ended questions in terms of their respective item non-response rates. Findings from the research indicate that the administration of questionnaires online, while it might have relatively little impact on the item non-response rates for fixed-choice questions, would seem to reduce item non-response rates where the questions are open-ended and require respondents to provide unstructured text-based answers.
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ISSN:1364-5579
1464-5300
DOI:10.1080/13645570802054706