Synopsis The 2nd edition of Mail and Internet Surveys was first published in 2000. The 2007 update of this edition adds an Appendix with more complete guidelines for developing mail, Internet and mixed-mode surveys, based upon new research. In the six years since publication of the second edition, dramatic changes have occurred in survey methodology. There is now much greater use of mixed-mode surveys, i.e. using two or more survey modes such as telephone and the Internet) to collect data in hopes of improving quality beyond what is obtainable by using only one survey mode. In addition, a great deal of development has occurred in the Internet, making it possible to do certain kinds of data collection on the web that was not possible in the late 1990s when the 2nd edition was written. A lot has also been learned since publication of that edition on how visual layout of questions and questionnaires can influence respondent answers.
The 2007 Update includes a new appendix of nearly 50 pages that summarizes these three major developments in survey methodology. In particular this Appendix brings together results from many recent research publications, which show how and why different visual layouts of questions often produce quite different answers. This Update also includes citations to the most recent research that is helping surveyors to do better surveys over the Internet and by mail than was being accomplished at the time of original publication. Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method (2000) was a nearly complete revision of the first edition, Mail and Telephone Surveys: The Total Design Method published in 1978, also by the John Wiley Company. The 2007 Update takes the concept of tailored design significantly further. The 29 years that have elapsed since publication of the first edition of this book have witnessed a profound change in the technology available for conducting self-administered surveys. This book responds to those changes for mail surveys, and also discusses how to conduct surveys over the Internet and by Interactive Voice Response (touchtone data entry) on the telephone. The Total Design Method (TDM) described in the first edition emphasized a one-size-fits-all approach to conducting surveys. It emphasized the application of social exchange theory and a comprehensive approach to encouraging respondent trust, and creating perceptions of increased rewards and reduced costs as a means of increasing survey response rates. Tailored Design, its successor, similarly emphasizes the social exchange basis for survey design but promulgates taking into account specific aspects of each survey situation to better capitalize on the social exchange basis of response. Specific survey procedures are also developed with a broader consideration of the causes of survey errors. The Preface of the 2007 Update summarizes changes that have come about since publication in 2000. Part I of Mail and Internet Surveys presents general procedures for writing questions, constructing questionnaires, and developing an implementation system that applies broadly to the design of most self-administered surveys. It also emphasizes reduction of survey error including coverage, sampling, measurement, and nonresponse. Included in Part I is an entire theory and set of concepts describing why and how visual aspects of questionnaire design influence respondent behavior. Whereas Part I emphasizes the commonalities of survey design, Part II introduces the effects of survey situation—population, sponsorship, and content—on the design of specific surveys. It begins with a discussion of tailoring individual surveys for collecting data by more than one mode (e.g., mail, telephone, web and/or other methods). In subsequent chapters, Tailored Designs are described for delivery of mail-back questionnaires in-person and in group situations. The special needs of diary, customer satisfaction, and election forecast surveys are described in another chapter. Tailoring procedures to the challenge of collecting government survey data is also discussed. Also described are the special issues needed for conducting surveys of businesses, a situation where individuals represent an organization rather than only themselves. The final two chapters of Part II seek to describe the challenge of using new technologies, from the Internet to optical imaging of questionnaires. These technologies are the major drivers behind the greatly increased use of self-administered surveys that lead to the author’s prediction that the conduct of self-administered surveys will dominate surveying in the early 21st Century. The Appendix that has been added in the 2007 Update details recent developments that affect the design of web, mail, and mixed-mode surveys. The evolution of web surveys from a new idea to a routine task, a greater need for mixed-mode surveys, and why and how visual layout of surveys affects responses are the three major issues that are discussed.
Chapter
Outline
Preface to the 2007 Update Part I. Elements of the Tailored Design Method
Chapter 1
Introduction to Tailored Design Part II. Tailoring to the Survey Situation
Chapter 6
Mixed Mode Surveys References 2007 Appendix: Recent Developments in the Design of Web, Mail and Mixed-Mode Surveys Appendix References Index Inquiries about the book and the research that underlies its development should be addressed to Don A. Dillman, dillman@wsu.edu
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