Tom Wells, Justin T. Bailey, Michael W. LinkMay 18, 2013

COMPARING TABLET, COMPUTER, ANDSMARTPHONE SURVEY ADMINISTRATIONS

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SURVEY PRACTICE ARTICLEFilling the Void: Gaining a Better Understanding of Tablet-Based Surveys

April 2013

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MOTIVATION• “Survey respondents are increasingly attempting to take surveys on their mobile

devices, whether researchers intend for this or not” (Cazes et al, 2011)

• Serious implications for online surveys

• 2012 AAPOR presentations• Data quality of respondents using smartphones and tablets on web surveys

• Kevin Guidry; Colleen McClain et al.

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ONLINE SURVEYS TAKEN ON A TABLET• Is tablet survey administration comparable to computer survey administration?

• Very little empirical research on tablet-based surveys

• Percentage of tablet respondents is small

• Tablet ownership is increasing

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ORIGINAL STUDY DESIGN• Mobile app survey (SODA by Techneos)

• Large, national sample of online panelists & smartphone users

• 24 behavioral questions – online, TV, consumer

• Same survey also administered online

• Panelists randomly assigned to mobile app version or online version

• Field period: Nov 4 – Nov 13, 2011

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MODE COMPLETES COMPLETION RATEMobile app 705 58%Web 711 61%

SURVEY RESPONSE STATISTICS

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MODE COMPLETES COMPLETION RATEMobile app 705 58%Web 711 61%PC web 550 --Mobile web – smartphone 128 --Mobile web – tablet 33 --

SURVEY RESPONSE STATISTICS

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MOBILE APP SCREENSHOT

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COMPUTER SCREENSHOT

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TABLET SCREENSHOT

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MOBILE WEB SCREENSHOT

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CHARACTERISTICS OF TABLET RESPONDENTS• Bachelor’s degree or more

• Household income of $75,000 or more

• Homeowners

• Married

• 39% report they primarily use a tablet to access the Internet

• Early adopters (tablet ownership was 10% in Dec 2011)

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MEASURES OF SURVEY TAKING BEHAVIOR• Breakoff rates

• Survey completion times

• Item-missing data

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MODE RATE SIGNIFICANTREGRESSION RESULTS

PC web 0.9%Mobile app 3.7% *Mobile web – smartphone 5.9% *Mobile web – tablet 2.9%Total 2.8%

BREAKOFF RATES

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MODE MEDIAN SIGNIFICANTREGRESSION RESULTS

PC web 5.3Mobile app 5.5 *Mobile web – smartphone 8.9 *Mobile web – tablet 5.1Total 5.6

COMPLETION TIMES (MINUTES)

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MODE PERCENTAGE SIGNIFICANTREGRESSION RESULTS

PC web 10.7%Mobile app 12.3%Mobile web – smartphone 7.8%Mobile web – tablet 9.1%Total 11.2%

ITEM NON-RESPONSE

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LIMITATIONS• Small and self-selected group of tablet respondents

• iPad only tablet used

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MAIN POINTS• Tablet survey administration appears to be comparable to computer survey

administration• Small, non-significant differences

• Findings consistent with Guidry (2012)

• Significant differences between smartphone, computer administration• Differences were more pronounced among smartphone web respondents

• Important to keep in mind appearance and functionality of online surveys givenunintended mobile respondents

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THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING!

Tom Wells

Email: thomas.wells@nielsen.com

Phone: 415-228-8946