Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 5333-5353 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | Quality and Quantity |
| Volume | 57 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Early online date | 10 Jan 2023 |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 10 Jan 2023 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Abstract
Recent advances in web survey methodology were motivated by the observation that respondents increasingly use mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, to participate in web surveys. Even though we do not doubt this general observation, we argue that the claim is lacking a solid empirical basis. Most research on increasing mobile device use in web surveys covers limited periods of time and/or analyzes data from only one study or panel. There is a surprising lack of comprehensive overviews on the magnitude of mobile device use in web surveys. In the present study, we explored this research gap by analyzing data from 128 web surveys collected in four different academic studies in Germany between 2012 and 2020. Overall, we found strong empirical evidence for an increase in smartphone use, a stagnation in tablet use, and a decrease in desktop PC use. There was no evidence that the increase in smartphone use will slow down any time soon. Thus, we recommend that survey researchers prepare for a device change in web surveys that may enable new applications in web surveys.
Keywords
- Mobile devices, Online panels, Smartphone, Survey participation, Web surveys
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Mathematics(all)
- Statistics and Probability
- Social Sciences(all)
- General Social Sciences
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In: Quality and Quantity, Vol. 57, No. 6, 10.01.2023, p. 5333-5353.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Is there a growing use of mobile devices in web surveys? Evidence from 128 web surveys in Germany
AU - Gummer, Tobias
AU - Höhne, Jan Karem
AU - Rettig, Tobias
AU - Roßmann, Joss
AU - Kummerow, Mirjan
N1 - Funding Information: We drew data from waves 1–50 of the German Internet Panel (GIP). The following variable used in our analyses are only available via the On-Site Data Access (ODA) facilities of the GIP for data protection reasons: device. A study description can be found in Blom et al. (). The GIP is part of the Collaborative Research Center 884 (SFB 884) funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG)—Project Number 139943784—SFB 884. We further drew on data from waves aa-hf of the GESIS Panel (GP). We used the datafile version 39.0.0 that was supplemented with device information. Moreover, we drew on data from waves 10–13 of the German Longitudinal Election Study—Panel (GLES-P) and waves 17–47 of the German Longitudinal Election Study-Tracking (GLES-T) that were each supplemented with device information. A list of surveys and waves used in our study, as well as information for data access via the GESIS Data Archive (study number, doi) is provided in “Appendix Table ”.
PY - 2023/1/10
Y1 - 2023/1/10
N2 - Recent advances in web survey methodology were motivated by the observation that respondents increasingly use mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, to participate in web surveys. Even though we do not doubt this general observation, we argue that the claim is lacking a solid empirical basis. Most research on increasing mobile device use in web surveys covers limited periods of time and/or analyzes data from only one study or panel. There is a surprising lack of comprehensive overviews on the magnitude of mobile device use in web surveys. In the present study, we explored this research gap by analyzing data from 128 web surveys collected in four different academic studies in Germany between 2012 and 2020. Overall, we found strong empirical evidence for an increase in smartphone use, a stagnation in tablet use, and a decrease in desktop PC use. There was no evidence that the increase in smartphone use will slow down any time soon. Thus, we recommend that survey researchers prepare for a device change in web surveys that may enable new applications in web surveys.
AB - Recent advances in web survey methodology were motivated by the observation that respondents increasingly use mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, to participate in web surveys. Even though we do not doubt this general observation, we argue that the claim is lacking a solid empirical basis. Most research on increasing mobile device use in web surveys covers limited periods of time and/or analyzes data from only one study or panel. There is a surprising lack of comprehensive overviews on the magnitude of mobile device use in web surveys. In the present study, we explored this research gap by analyzing data from 128 web surveys collected in four different academic studies in Germany between 2012 and 2020. Overall, we found strong empirical evidence for an increase in smartphone use, a stagnation in tablet use, and a decrease in desktop PC use. There was no evidence that the increase in smartphone use will slow down any time soon. Thus, we recommend that survey researchers prepare for a device change in web surveys that may enable new applications in web surveys.
KW - Mobile devices
KW - Online panels
KW - Smartphone
KW - Survey participation
KW - Web surveys
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85145893304&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11135-022-01601-8
DO - 10.1007/s11135-022-01601-8
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85145893304
VL - 57
SP - 5333
EP - 5353
JO - Quality and Quantity
JF - Quality and Quantity
SN - 0033-5177
IS - 6
ER -