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Related Experiment Videos

Web surveys' hidden hazards.

Palmer Morrel-Samuels1

  • 1Employee Motivation and Performance Assessment, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.

Harvard Business Review
|July 16, 2003
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Survey questions yield different answers online versus in print, skewing results. Psychologist Palmer Morrel-Samuels shows how to fix these survey design issues for accurate data.

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Area of Science:

  • Survey methodology
  • Psychological research
  • Data analysis

Background:

  • Survey questions can produce significantly different responses depending on the medium (Web vs. print).
  • This discrepancy can lead to distorted survey results and flawed management decisions.
  • Existing survey methods may not account for medium-specific response biases.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify and explain the causes of response discrepancies between Web and print surveys.
  • To demonstrate that these issues are solvable through specific methodological adjustments.
  • To provide guidance for improving the accuracy and reliability of survey data.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of survey responses across different media.
  • Psychological principles applied to question design.

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  • Identification of specific question formats that are prone to medium-based distortion.

    • Main Results:

    • The same question can elicit substantially different answers when administered online compared to in print.
    • Specific question wording and formatting are key factors influencing these differences.
    • Management decisions based on distorted survey data can be significantly misleading.

    Conclusions:

    • Differences in survey responses between Web and print are a significant issue.
    • These problems are addressable through careful survey design and methodology.
    • Implementing corrected methods ensures more reliable and accurate survey outcomes.