ERIC Number: EJ1458200
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Feb
Pages: 34
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0049-1241
EISSN: EISSN-1552-8294
The Effects of Open-Ended Probes on Closed Survey Questions in Web Surveys
Sociological Methods & Research, v54 n1 p106-139 2025
Probes are follow-ups to survey questions used to gain insights on respondents' understanding of and responses to these questions. They are usually administered as open-ended questions, primarily in the context of questionnaire pretesting. Due to the decreased cost of data collection for open-ended questions in web surveys, researchers have argued for embedding more open-ended probes in large-scale web surveys. However, there are concerns that this may cause reactivity and impact survey data. The study presents a randomized experiment in which identical survey questions were run with and without open-ended probes. Embedding open-ended probes resulted in higher levels of survey break off, as well as increased backtracking and answer changes to previous questions. In most cases, there was no impact of open-ended probes on the cognitive processing of and response to survey questions. Implications for embedding open-ended probes into web surveys are discussed.
Descriptors: Online Surveys, Discovery Processes, Test Items, Data Collection, Cost Effectiveness, Questionnaires, Response Rates (Questionnaires), Cognitive Processes, Foreign Countries, Regional Characteristics, Age, Sex, Sampling, Research Methodology
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Germany; East Germany
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Data File: URL: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.6084/m9.figshare.22499557.v1