BACKGROUND
Web surveys offer numerous advantages, such as global reach, easy accessibility, and anonymity for respondents, making them an invaluable tool for data collection across all disciplines. Their cost efficiency, combined with the speed and automation of implementation, data collection and processing, ensures that researchers can gather data quickly and economically.
The sampling strategy, sample size and response rate is crucial for ensuring data quality in web surveys. A robust sampling strategy is important to ensure that the collected data accurately represents the target population, enhancing the validity, reliability and generalizability of the research findings. Achieving a high number of participants increases statistical power and allows for detailed subgroup analyses. Minimizing survey dropout ensures comprehensive data coverage and reduces the risk of biased results.
If good data quality is achieved, it enhances the credibility of the findings, increases visibility and impact within and outside the scientific community, and potentially allows the data to be used for secondary analyses.
WORKSHOP GOAL
Would you like to conduct a web survey for your thesis or as part of your research project but are unsure how to draw your sample, how to reach your target group and how to motivate them to take part in your survey? Would you like to learn what you need to consider in designing your survey to prevent respondents from skipping questions or dropping out?
This training will teach you the basics of web survey design, covering survey sampling, recruiting, increasing participation motivation (e. g. incentivization) and minimizing drop-out and nonresponse. The workshop covers unique aspects and considerations specific to online surveys, addresses particular challenges and needs of diverse respondent groups, and provides best practices on topics such as data protection and documentation. The knowledge is illustrated through examples and reinforced interactively with short exercises.
By the end of the course, you will have the necessary knowledge in web survey sampling, recruiting and survey design to create a suitable web survey for your research project.
WORKSHOP CONTENT
In this workshop, we will cover the following topics:
-
Introduction to web surveys – Definitions, significance, advantages, challenges
- Characteristics of a good questionnaire
- Sampling in web surveys
- Participant recruitment
- Participant motivation and incentivization
- Survey drop-out and nonresponse
- Ethics and data protection
- Organization and documentation
To further discuss specific issues or needs related to your particular research project, questions on weighting, missing data analysis or imputation, get in touch for an individual consultation.
TARGET AUDIENCE & PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Researchers of all disciplines and career stages – early career researchers (especially PhD students) or advanced researchers – who want to conduct a web survey and have little to no prior knowledge about.
For an introduction to questionnaire design and a hands-on workshop on implementing web surveys, please look into these additional trainings:
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
None
ABOUT THE TRAINER
Dr. Susanne de Vogel is a data scientist for training and consulting at the DSC. She holds a diploma in Social Sciences from the University of Cologne (2013) and a PhD in Sociology from the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (2019). Susanne has worked for over 10 years on the development and implementation of various panel studies at the German Center for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW) in Hanover. Her competencies lie in survey design, instrument development and in the collection, preparation, analysis, and management of (survey) data.