Mobile phones in an environment of competing survey modes

applying metric for evaluation of costs and errors

Vasja Vehovar (Author), Jernej Berzelak (Author), Katja Lozar Manfreda (Author)

Abstract

In recent years, mobile phones have become an increasingly important component in survey data collection. This holds true for self-administered questionnaires and particularly for interview surveys, where mobile phones enforce the combination with other survey modes. However, whether to include mobile phones in a particular survey design depends on complex cost-error relationships. To address this issue, the authors elaborate a metric-based on a product of costs and estimates of survey errors-that is then used for post survey comparison of design alternatives. The authors illustrate this approach with a simulation study using parameters from empirical research. The results show that such evaluation can potentially change the selection of the preferred design option compared to situations where only some of the components (e.g., response rate, nonresponse bias) are used for evaluation. More specifically, the decision about the inclusion of mobile phones predominantly depends on their bias-removing potential, while it is much less sensitive to changes in costs and other error parameters.

Keywords

Mobilni telefoni;Ankete;

Data

Language:	English
Year of publishing:	2010
Typology:	1.01 - Original Scientific Article
Organization:	UL FDV - Faculty of Social Sciences
UDC:	303
COBISS:	29422941
ISSN:	0894-4393
Parent publication:	Social science computer review
Views:	516
Downloads:	264
Average score:	0 (0 votes)
Metadata:

Other data

Secondary language:	English
Secondary keywords:	Cellular telephones;Surveys;
Type (COBISS):	Article
Pages:	str. 303-318
Volume:	ǂVol. ǂ28
Issue:	ǂno. ǂ3
Chronology:	2010
DOI:	10.1177/0894439309353035
ID:	11815794