The Video-Enhanced Web Survey Data Quality and Cognitive Processing of Questions

1. The Video-Enhanced Web SurveyData Quality and Cognitive Processing of Questions Marek Fuchs University of Kassel, Germany marek.fuchs@uni-kassel.de

2. Humanizing Elements in Survey Data Collection

3. Introduction Layout kept constant Same location for text and video Response scale identical

4. Social Interface Theory • „Computers associalactors” (Reeves & Nass, 1997) • Respondents ascribe social properties to computers • React to questions administered by computers similarly to interviews with human interviewers. • Hypotheses • Higher levels of social presence • More pronounced social desirability • Increased underreporting of sensitive information

5. Survey Methods Research • Survey methodology • AV-CASI: More positive responses to sensitive questions (Katz et al., 2007) • AV-CASI: Less contaminated by social desirability (Gerich, 2007) • Web surveys: marginal effects of humanizing elements (Couper, Tourangeau, & Steiger, 2003) • Hypotheses • Anthropomorphizing elements increase respondents‘ motivation and involvement • Audio-visual channel will promote comprehensive question understanding • Increased reporting

6. Methods • Universe • Student online access panel at the University of Kassel, Germany • Sample • N = 1.148 (880 for this experiment) • Response rate (within the panel): 49% • Field work • Summer 2007, e-mail invitation and 2 reminders • Incentive: lottery drawing of book vouchers • Experiment • Text vs. video/male vs. female • Between subjects design • Fuchs/Funke 2007, 2008

7. Results

8. Results

9. Structural Equation Models for Text vs. Video • Text-based version • Negative effect • Social presence • Social desirability • Positive effect • Question understanding • Flow • Video-enhanced version • No effect • Social desirability • Question understanding • Positive Effect • Social presence • Flow

10. Summary • Video version vs. text version • Social presence lower in video version • Social desirability does not differ • Message understanding does not differ • Slightly higher flow in the video version

11. Summary • Video and text version yield similar results • No overall differences for sensitive behaviors • However, the cognitive processes differ • Text version • Social presence and social desirability promote underreporting • Question understanding and flow increases reporting • Video version • Social presence and flow increase reporting • Social desirability and message understanding have no effect

12. Discussion • Implications • It is not only the visual presence of the interviewer • It is also the communicative channel used to convey the question meaning • Caveats • Student population restricts generalization • Backchannel is keyboard and mouse only • Next steps • More active interviewer behavior • Heterogeneity of interviewer • „Choose your interviewer“

13. End Thank you! Marek Fuchs University of Kassel, Germany marek.fuchs@uni-kassel.de