Effects of Smiley Face Scales on Visual Processing of Satisfaction Questions in Web Surveys

Abstract

Web surveys permit researchers to use graphic or symbolic elements alongside the text of response options to help respondents process the categories. Smiley faces are one example used to communicate positive and negative domains. How respondents visually process these smiley faces, including whether they detract from the question's text, is understudied. We report the results of two eyetracking experiments in which satisfaction questions were asked with and without smiley faces. Respondents to the questions with smiley faces spent less time reading the question stem and response option text than respondents to the questions without smiley faces, but the response distributions did not differ by version. We also find support that lower literacy respondents rely more on the smiley faces than higher literacy respondents.

Patient Experience in the Transition of Home Parenteral Nutrition Services Between Centers: Evaluation of a Transition Model

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Tailored Sailing Experience to Reduce Psychological Distress and Improve the Quality of Life of Breast Cancer Survivors: A Survey-Based Pilot Study

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Use of paradata in quality control of online survey

“…Так, в вопросе об удовлетворенности онлайн-опросом использовались две шкалы: обычная шкала удовлетворенности и шкала в виде набора положительных и отрицательных смайликов. В результате респонденты на вопросы со смайликами тратили меньше времени на чтение текста вопроса и выбор ответа, чем респонденты на вопросы без смайликов, хотя на распределение ответов это не повлияло [Stange et al, 2016].…”