ADVANTAGE AND DISADVANTAGE OF ONLINE SURVEY

1. ONLINE SURVEY

2. ONLINE SURVEY
Definition - What does Online Survey mean?
An online survey is a questionnaire that the target audience can complete over the Internet. Online surveys are
usually created as Web forms with a database to store the answers and statistical software to provide analytics.
People are often encouraged to complete online surveys by an incentive such as being entered to win a prize.

3. MODES OF DATA COLLECTION
There are several ways of administering a survey. Within a survey, different methods can be used for different parts. For example,
interviewer administration can be used for general topics but self-administration for sensitive topics. The choice between
administration modes is influenced by several factors, including 1) costs, 2) coverage of the target population (including group-
specific preferences for certain modes), 3) flexibility of asking questions, 4) respondents’ willingness to participate and 5) response
accuracy. Different methods create mode effects that change how respondents answer. The most common modes of administration are
listed under the following headings.
Mobile surveys
Mobile data collection or mobile surveys is an increasingly popular method of data collection. Over 50% of surveys today are opened
on mobile devices. The survey, form, app or collection tool is on a mobile device such as a smart phone or a tablet. These devices
offer innovative ways to gather data, and eliminate the laborious "data entry" (of paper form data into a computer), which delays data
analysis and understanding. By eliminating paper, mobile data collection can also dramatically reduce costs: one World Bank study in
Guatemala found a 71% decrease in cost while using mobile data collection, compared to the previous paper-based approach.
SMS surveys can reach any handset, in any language and in any country. As they are not dependent on internet access and the
answers can be sent when its convenient, they are a suitable mobile survey data collection channel for many situations that require
fast, high volume responses. As a result, SMS surveys can deliver 80% of responses in less than 2 hours and often at much lower cost
compared to face-to-face surveys, due to the elimination of travel/personnel costs.
Apart from the high mobile phone penetration, further advantages are quicker response times and the possibility to reach previously
hard-to-reach target groups. In this way, mobile technology allows marketers, researchers and employers to create real and
meaningful mobile engagement in environments different from the traditional one in front of a desktop computer. However, even
when using mobile devices to answer the web surveys, most respondents still answer from home.

4. Online surveys
Online (Internet) surveys are becoming an essential research tool for a variety of research fields, including marketing,
social and official statistics research. According to ESOMAR online survey research accounted for 20% of global data-
collection expenditure in 2006.They offer capabilities beyond those available for any other type of self-administered
questionnaire. Online consumer panels are also used extensively for carrying out surveys but the quality is considered
inferior because the panelists are regular contributors and tend to be fatigued. However, when estimating the
measurement quality (defined as product of reliability and validity) using a multitrait-mutlimethod approach (MTMM),
some studies found a quite reasonable quality and even that the quality of a series of questions in an online opt-in
panel (Netquest) was very similar to the measurement quality for the same questions asked in the European Social
Survey (ESS), which is a face-to-face survey.
Some studies have compared the quality of face-to-face surveys and/or telephone surveys with that of online surveys,
for single questions, but also for more complex concepts measured with more than one question (also called Composite
Scores or Index). Focusing only on probability-based surveys (also for the online ones), they found overall that the
face-to-face (using show-cards) and web surveys have quite similar levels of measurement quality, whereas the
telephone surveys were performing worse. Other studies comparing paper-and-pencil questionnaires with web-based
questionnaires showed that employees preferred online survey approaches to the paper-and-pencil format. There are
also concerns about what has been called "ballot stuffing" in which employees make repeated responses to the same
survey. Some employees are also concerned about privacy. Even if they do not provide their names when responding to
a company survey, can they be certain that their anonymity is protected? Such fears prevent some employees from
expressing an opinion.

5. ADVANTAGES OF ONLINE SURVEYS
Advantages of online surveys
Web surveys are faster, simpler, and cheaper. However, lower costs are not so straightforward in practice, as they are strongly
interconnected to errors. Because response rate comparisons to other survey modes are usually not favourable for online surveys,
efforts to achieve a higher response rate (e.g., with traditional solicitation methods) may substantially increase costs.
The entire data collection period is significantly shortened, as all data can be collected and processed in little more than a month.
Interaction between the respondent and the questionnaire is more dynamic compared to e-mail or paper surveys. Online surveys are
also less intrusive, and they suffer less from social desirability effects.
Complex skip patterns can be implemented in ways that are mostly invisible to the respondent.
Pop-up instructions can be provided for individual questions to provide help with questions exactly where assistance is required.
Questions with long lists of answer choices can be used to provide immediate coding of answers to certain questions that are usually
asked in an open-ended fashion in paper questionnaires.
Online surveys can be tailored to the situation (e.g., respondents may be allowed save a partially completed form, the questionnaire
may be preloaded with already available information, etc.).
Online questionnaires may be improved by applying usability testing, where usability is measured with reference to the speed with
which a task can be performed, the frequency of errors and user satisfaction with the interface.

6. Key methodological issues of online survey
Sampling. The difference between probability samples (where the inclusion probabilities for all units of the target
population is known in advance) and non-probability samples (which often require less time and effort but generally do
not support statistical inference) is crucial. Probability samples are highly affected by problems of non-coverage (not all
members of the general population have Internet access) and frame problems (online survey invitations are most
conveniently distributed using e-mail, but there are no e-mail directories of the general population that might be used as
a sampling frame). Because coverage and frame problems can significantly impact data quality, they should be
adequately reported when disseminating the research results.
Invitations to online surveys. Due to the lack of sampling frames many online survey invitations are published in the
form of an URL link on web sites or in other media, which leads to sample selection bias that is out of research control
and to non-probability samples. Traditional solicitation modes, such as telephone or mail invitations to web surveys, can
help overcoming probability sampling issues in online surveys. However, such approaches are faced with problems of
dramatically higher costs and questionable effectiveness.
Non-response. Online survey response rates are generally low and also vary extremely – from less than 1% in
enterprise surveys with e-mail invitations to almost 100% in specific membership surveys. In addition to refusing
participation, terminating surveying during the process or not answering certain questions, several other non-response
patterns can be observed in online surveys, such as lurking respondents and a combination of partial and item non-
response. Response rates can be increased by offering monetary or some other type of incentive to the respondents, by
contacting respondents several times (follow-up), and by keeping the questionnaire difficulty as low as possible.[1] There
are draw-backs to using an incentive to garner a response. Non-bias responses could be questioned in this type of
situation. The most concrete way to gain feedback is to publicize what is done with the results. To take concrete actions
based on feedback and to show that to the customer base is extremely motivating to customers to continue to let their
voice be heard.

7. Platform Issues. Lack of familiarity with the platform used can cause participants and clients confusion.
Questionnaire design. While modern web questionnaires offer a range of design features (different question
types, images, multimedia), the use of such elements should be limited to the extent necessary for respondents to
understand questions or to stimulate the response. It should not affect their responses, because that would mean lower
validity and reliability of data. Appropriate questionnaire design can help lowering the measurement error that can arise
also due to the respondents or the survey mode itself (respondent’s motivation, computer literacy, abilities, privacy
concerns, etc.).
Post-survey adjustments. Various robust procedures have been developed for situations where sampling deviate
from probability selection, or, when we face non-coverage and non-response problems. The standard statistical
inference procedures (e.g. confidence interval calculations and hypothesis testing) still require a probability sample.
The actual survey practice, particularly in marketing research and in public opinion polling, which massively neglects
the principles of probability samples, increasingly requires from the statistical profession to specify the conditions
where non-probability samples may work.

8. Telephone
Use of interviewers encourages sample persons to respond, leading to higher
response rates.[27]
Interviewers can increase comprehension of questions by answering respondents'
questions.
Fairly cost efficient, depending on local call charge structure
Good for large national (or international) sampling frames
Some potential for interviewer bias (e.g., some people may be more willing to discuss
a sensitive issue with a female interviewer than with a male one)
Cannot be used for non-audio information (graphics, demonstrations, taste/smell
samples)
Three types:
 Traditional telephone interviews
 Computer assisted telephone dialling
 Computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI)

9. Mail
The questionnaire may be handed to the respondents or mailed to them, but in all cases they are returned to the
researcher via mail.
An advantage is, is that cost is very low, since bulk postage is cheap in most countries
Long delays, often several months, before the surveys are returned and statistical analysis can begin
Not suitable for issues that may require clarification
Respondents can answer at their own convenience (allowing them to break up long surveys; also useful if they need
to check records to answer a question)
No interviewer bias
Non-response bias can be corrected by extrapolation across waves
Large amount of information can be obtained: some mail surveys are as long as 50 pages
Response rates can be improved by using mail panels
Response rates can be improved by using prepaid monetary incentives
Response rates are affected by the class of mail through which the survey was sent
 Members of the panel have agreed to participate
 Panels can be used in longitudinal designs where the same respondents are surveyed several times

10. Face-to-face
Suitable for locations where telephone or mail are not developed
Potential for interviewer bias
Easy to manipulate by completing multiple times to skew results
Mixed-mode surveys
Researchers can combine several above methods for the data collection. For example, researchers can invite shoppers at
malls, and send willing participants questionnaires by emails. With the introduction of computers to the survey process,
survey mode now includes combinations of different approaches or mixed-mode designs. Some of the most common
methods are:[31]
Computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI): The computer displays the questions on screen, the interviewer reads
them to the respondent, and then enters the respondent's answers.
Audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (audio CASI): The respondent operates the computer, the computer displays
the question on the screen and plays recordings of the questions to the respondents, who then enters his/her answers.
Computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI)
Interactive voice response (IVR): The computer plays recordings of the questions to respondents over the telephone,
who then respond by using the keypad of the telephone or speaking their answers aloud.
Web surveys: The computer administers the questions online.

11. Disadvantages of Online Survey
1. Absence of Interviewer
An online survey is not suitable for surveys which ask open-ended questions because there is no trained interviewer
to explore the answers of the respondents.
2. Inability to Reach Challenging Population
This method is not applicable for surveys that require respondents who do not have an access to the Internet. Some
examples of these respondents include the elderly and people who reside in remote areas.
3. Survey Fraud
Survey fraud is probably the heaviest disadvantage of an online survey. There are people who answer online
surveys for the sake of getting the incentive (usually in the form of money) after they have completed the survey,
not with a desire to contribute to the advancement of the study.