Implementation of the forced answering option within online surveys: Do higher item response rates come at the expense of participation and answer quality?
Online surveys have become a popular method for data gathering for many reasons, including low costs and the ability to collect data rapidly. However, online data collection is often conducted without adequate attention to implementation details. One example is the frequent use of the fo...
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Drustvo Psihologa Srbije
2015-01-01
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doaj-0ca5f5115f4a482daeec2ddca191c8f82020-11-25T02:00:27ZengDrustvo Psihologa SrbijePsihologija0048-57051451-92832015-01-0148431132610.2298/PSI1504311D0048-57051504311DImplementation of the forced answering option within online surveys: Do higher item response rates come at the expense of participation and answer quality?Décieux Jean Philippe0Mergener Alexandra1Neufang Kristina Marliese2Sischka Philipp3Université du Luxembourg, Research Unit INSIDE, LuxembourgFederal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), Section 2.2 “Qualifications, Occupational Integration and Employment”, Bonn, Germany + Chair of Methodology and Empirical Social Research, University of Trier, GermanyUniversity of Trier, Chair of Methodology and Empirical Social Research, GermanyUniversité du Luxembourg, Research Unit INSIDE, LuxembourgOnline surveys have become a popular method for data gathering for many reasons, including low costs and the ability to collect data rapidly. However, online data collection is often conducted without adequate attention to implementation details. One example is the frequent use of the forced answering option, which forces the respondent to answer each question in order to proceed through the questionnaire. The avoidance of missing data is often the idea behind the use of the forced answering option. However, we suggest that the costs of a reactance effect in terms of quality reduction and unit nonresponse may be high because respondents typically have plausible reasons for not answering questions. The objective of the study reported in this paper was to test the influence of forced answering on dropout rates and data quality. The results show that requiring participants answer every question increases dropout rates and decreases quality of answers. Our findings suggest that the desire for a complete data set has to be balanced against the consequences of reduced data quality.http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0048-5705/2015/0048-57051504311D.pdfforced answeringonline survey researchdropoutnonresponseresponse qualityfakingrandom answering |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Décieux Jean Philippe Mergener Alexandra Neufang Kristina Marliese Sischka Philipp |
spellingShingle |
Décieux Jean Philippe Mergener Alexandra Neufang Kristina Marliese Sischka Philipp Implementation of the forced answering option within online surveys: Do higher item response rates come at the expense of participation and answer quality? Psihologija forced answering online survey research dropout nonresponse response quality faking random answering |
author_facet |
Décieux Jean Philippe Mergener Alexandra Neufang Kristina Marliese Sischka Philipp |
author_sort |
Décieux Jean Philippe |
title |
Implementation of the forced answering option within online surveys: Do higher item response rates come at the expense of participation and answer quality? |
title_short |
Implementation of the forced answering option within online surveys: Do higher item response rates come at the expense of participation and answer quality? |
title_full |
Implementation of the forced answering option within online surveys: Do higher item response rates come at the expense of participation and answer quality? |
title_fullStr |
Implementation of the forced answering option within online surveys: Do higher item response rates come at the expense of participation and answer quality? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Implementation of the forced answering option within online surveys: Do higher item response rates come at the expense of participation and answer quality? |
title_sort |
implementation of the forced answering option within online surveys: do higher item response rates come at the expense of participation and answer quality? |
publisher |
Drustvo Psihologa Srbije |
series |
Psihologija |
issn |
0048-5705 1451-9283 |
publishDate |
2015-01-01 |
description |
Online surveys have become a popular method for data gathering for many
reasons, including low costs and the ability to collect data rapidly.
However, online data collection is often conducted without adequate
attention to implementation details. One example is the frequent use of the
forced answering option, which forces the respondent to answer each question
in order to proceed through the questionnaire. The avoidance of missing data
is often the idea behind the use of the forced answering option. However, we
suggest that the costs of a reactance effect in terms of quality reduction
and unit nonresponse may be high because respondents typically have
plausible reasons for not answering questions. The objective of the study
reported in this paper was to test the influence of forced answering on
dropout rates and data quality. The results show that requiring participants
answer every question increases dropout rates and decreases quality of
answers. Our findings suggest that the desire for a complete data set has to
be balanced against the consequences of reduced data quality. |
topic |
forced answering online survey research dropout nonresponse response quality faking random answering |
url |
http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0048-5705/2015/0048-57051504311D.pdf |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT decieuxjeanphilippe implementationoftheforcedansweringoptionwithinonlinesurveysdohigheritemresponseratescomeattheexpenseofparticipationandanswerquality AT mergeneralexandra implementationoftheforcedansweringoptionwithinonlinesurveysdohigheritemresponseratescomeattheexpenseofparticipationandanswerquality AT neufangkristinamarliese implementationoftheforcedansweringoptionwithinonlinesurveysdohigheritemresponseratescomeattheexpenseofparticipationandanswerquality AT sischkaphilipp implementationoftheforcedansweringoptionwithinonlinesurveysdohigheritemresponseratescomeattheexpenseofparticipationandanswerquality |
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