Comparison of Survey Data Collection Methods

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a mixed-mode survey of the general
population using a combination of postal, telephone, and Internet survey
protocols. Potential respondents were invited to participate by ordinary
mail and were allowed to choose their preferred response mode. The
paper focuses on response quality (taking non-responses into
consideration), fieldwork time and data collection cost. The results reveal
that the Internet survey produces the lowest rate of non-responses and
requires significantly less fieldwork time, although it is slightly more costly
than the postal survey. However, when differences in cost structure are
taken into account, we find that the same number of completed
questionnaires could have been obtained through the Internet alone at a
cost that is 18.2% lower than the mixed-mode survey.