Exploring the difference in participants’ factual knowledge between online and in-person survey modes:

Research & Politics

Craig M. Burnett¹ 

关键词: Online surveys;    difference in mode;    survey experiment;    political knowledge;   

DOI  :  10.1177/2053168016654326

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Sage Journals

【 摘 要 】

Over the past decade, an increasing number of scholars and professionals have turned to the Internet to gather samples of subjects for research ranging from public opinion surveys to experiments in the social sciences. While there has been a focus on whether online samples are representative and accurate, fewer studies examine the behavioral differences between individuals who participate in surveys and experiments on a computer versus in-person. Here, I use an experiment to gauge whether respondents who self-complete surveys online are more likely to register higher knowledge scores compared with respondents who self-complete surveys with pen and paper in a laboratory. The results show that subjects in the online group are significantly more likely to answer knowledge questions correctly across a range of topics. Patterns in the data imply respondents are researching some answers.

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC-ND