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TIPSHEET – SURVEY MODALITY
One of the earliest and most critical decisions in the survey development process is to determine how to gather your data. This is referred to as modality or mode. Common modes include in- person/face-to-face, telephone, mail, web, or mixed mode surveys that blend these formats. This tipsheet covers the strengths and weaknesses of the various modes, and compares the tradeoffs involved in choosing one mode over another. Given the increasing ease of conducting web-based surveys, many researchers use web surveys as a default. However, as this document will show, online surveys are not always the most desirable for a given survey project.
Deciding on a Mode
What factors go into deciding on a mode? Some to consider include: Population – Know your population and consider whether certain modalities would better suit its characteristics. Many senior citizens, for example, are not as adept at the Internet. Thus, an online survey may not be the best mode for a survey of older individuals (e.g. a survey of Medicare recipients). Types of questions – A survey with simple questions and response scales will likely fit any mode well. However, if a survey has complicated or lengthy questions, a self- administered survey via mail or the web might be better than an interviewer-administered survey over the phone or in person. In a self-administered format, respondents can read the text multiple times without having to ask for a question to be repeated. Skip logic – If a survey has complicated skip logic, a web or interviewer-administered survey takes the burden of correctly following skip instructions off of the respondent. This will reduce errors that stem from incorrectly following skip logic.
Question topics – Surveys with sensitive questions might benefit from using a self- administered format. Respondents are less likely to be influenced by social desirability bias in those modes. Response rate – If your population is characterized by low response rates (e.g. poorer, less educated, minority, English as a second language groups, etc.), interviewer- administered surveys will typically yield higher response rates. Trained interviewers can be effective at converting refusals and encouraging respondents to complete a survey once they start it, whereas self-administered surveys place that burden on the respondent. This typically yields significantly lower response rates in mail and web surveys. Cost – Self-administered surveys yield lower response rates and poorer data quality, but they cost less than interviewer-administered surveys that demand greater overhead and labor costs. Time – Self-administered surveys, especially those on the web, typically have quicker turnaround time than interviewer-administered surveys.
Choosing a mode necessarily involves tradeoffs between all of these factors. If a researcher needs data quickly and at low cost, a web-based survey may be desirable even though it will yield lower response rates and poorer data quality than a phone or in-person survey where a trained interviewer can use quality control techniques to get better responses.
In-person/Face-to-face
Advantages Generally yields highest cooperation and lowest refusal rates Allows for longer and more complex interviews Higher response quality Interviewer presence can be advantageous Multi-method data collection easier Disadvantages Most costly mode Longer data collection period
Mail
Advantages Lowest cost Can survey globally with ease Fastest data collection period Complex surveys can be easily implemented Sample size can be greater Multimedia easily incorporated Lack of interviewer Disadvantages Internet penetration and familiarity Representative samples of general population “impossible” Technology constraints on the user end Lack of interviewer
Modes Compared
Factor In-person Phone Mail Web
Cost Costly Moderate Cheap Cheapest
Speed Slow Fast Moderate Fastest
Response rate High Moderate Low Low to moderate
Sampling need Address Phone # Address Email
Respondent burden Low Moderate High Moderate
Researcher control Variable Variable None None
Length of survey Long Moderate Short Short
Social desirability High Moderate Low Low
Length of response options Moderate Moderate Short Short
Open-ended responses High High Poor Moderate
Survey complexity High Good Poor High
Chance of interviewer bias High Moderate None None
Author: Patrick R. Miller, DISM Survey Research Associate
