Page switching in mixed-device web surveys: prevalence and data quality

Abstract: As a self-administered survey mode, web surveys allow respondents to temporarily leave the survey page and switch to another web page in a different browser tab or to another window/app. This form of sequential multitasking has the potential to disrupt the response process and reduce data quality if respondents become distracted (Krosnick, 1991; Sendelbah et al., 2016). Browser data indicating respondents leaving the survey page allow non-reactive measurement of their multitasking. We investigated the prevalence of page switching, number of switching events and time spent absent per event with respect to respondents’ characteristics and devices used. Furthermore, we analysed the association with data quality (item missing, differentiation in grid questions and number of characters to open-ended questions). The results indicate that the prevalence of page switching is relatively low and the durations of page switching events are rather short. Also, respondents using a PC/tablet are

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch
• Notes: Veröffentlichungsversion ; begutachtet (peer reviewed) ; In: Survey Methods: Insights from the Field (2020) ; 1-7

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Sozialwissenschaften, Soziologie, Anthropologie

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (where): Mannheim
• (who): SSOAR, GESIS – Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften e.V.
• (when): 2020
• Creator: Baier, Tobias ; Fuchs, Marek

Further information

• DOI: 10.13094/SMIF-2020-00021
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2022080207472597976306
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 25.03.2025, 1:52 PM CET