The online or e‐survey: a research approach for the ICT age

Abstract

DerekGlover University of LincolnBrayford PoolLincolnLN6 7TSUKderek@derekglover.co.uk E-technology as a basis of research is now being more widely considered as potential respondents can be drawn from an ever widening audience. Early work by others has shown that many respondents are keen to use the medium and that response rates are generally higher than by conventional approaches. This article summarizes the experience of researchers who have contacted all participants in a major training and development initiative for newly appointed head teachers in England and Wales. All participants were asked to complete an online survey including closed, open and semi-structured questions. The 40% response rate was higher than for postal questionnaires and the space flexibility of the e-survey yielded a considerable amount of data to the open questions which is normally limited by design constraints in conventional surveys. Results were analysed using Excel, SPSS and Sphinx programmes. The approach offers a worthwhile means of securing opinion on process, content and philosophical issues but is less effective in securing more complex, detailed and structured quantitative data. The open nature of response does not prescribe what the evidence will be but provides an opportunity for conclusions to grow from the evidence offering a truly grounded approach. BackgroundDuring the past decade there has been increasing use of online or e-surveys in social research. The potential was outlined by Coomber (1997), who indicates that the Internet was a new interface between researcher and a wider range of respondents. He recognizes that both technical and research understanding are essential if the approach is to achieve results at a level that is higher than that from conventional postal approaches. Mann and Stewart (2000) show the advantages and disadvantages of adapting qualitative research methods to the online environment but with an emphasis on the technical aspects of changed practice. For Miller and Slater (2000) the research aspects predominate, with consideration of ethical issues and the changing role of interviewer and interviewed in cyberspace mediated relationships. The

Online surveys—possibilities, pitfalls and practicalities: The experience of the TELA evaluation

“…Eaton and Struthers (2002) reported fuller and more incisive answers to an online survey compared with a paper-based survey, where this was actually a goal of the evaluation. Glover and Bush (2005) agreed that the greatest value of the online survey was that it encouraged deeper reflection than that developed in paper-based surveys where people responded according to space available. They concluded that their online survey offered fuller answers at a relatively cheaper cost and from a wider respondent group.…”

“…During the past decade there has been increasing use of online surveys in social and private sector market research (Spitz, Niles & Adler, 2006). Glover and Bush (2005) suggest that this may be because potential respondents can be drawn from an ever-widening audience. It is also true that online surveys are often easier and less expensive to administer than alternative survey methods, and that they have the potential to offer more flexibility and features than other survey methods (Spitz et al, 2006).…”

“…Over the years, the discussion about the value of using online surveys has become more positive in tone, but there are still issues that the researcher needs to be aware of in choosing to use an online survey, such as the apparent length of an online survey when the respondent first enters the website (Glover & Bush, 2005;Toepoel, Das & Van Soest, 2009).…”

“…Moreover, many respondents, even in a highly educated population, may not have the computer experience to take advantage of advanced facilities. Glover and Bush (2005) recommend that the technical design of the online survey should ensure that the form is clearly presented, and that it will load quickly and run for the majority of users. To balance the variety of opportunities and limitations is a unique challenge for the online survey researcher.…”

The effect of language in answering qualitative questions in user experience evaluation web-surveys

“…The internet has become a promising alternative to collect data replacing traditional paper and pencil and face-to-face methods for scientific and market research utilizing surveys (Singh et al, 2009). Following the increased use of online methods in social research (Glover & Bush, 2005), in UX research too, online methods have become desirable given their lightweight nature, speed and relative ease-of-use (Väänänen-VainioMattila et al, 2008).…”