Item nonresponse in web versus other survey modes : a systematic review and meta-analysis

Čehovin, Gregor (author), Bošnjak, Michael (author), Lozar Manfreda, Katja (author)

Nonresponse is a fundamental issue in survey research, due to the trend of declining response rates across survey modes. This issue is particularly serious for web surveys: A recent meta-analysis found that unit nonresponse in web surveys is, on average, higher by 12 percentage points than in other modes (Daikeler et al., 2020). Although the issue of unit nonresponse in web and other survey modes has been investigated in several meta-analyses, item nonresponse has not been examined meta-analytically, a gap addressed by this paper. Are web surveys at a disadvantage compared to other survey modes in terms of item nonresponse as well? To address this question, 13 eligible experimental manuscripts reporting 23 effect sizes were identified in a comprehensive literature search. Meta-analytic findings showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the average item nonresponse rate in web versus other survey modes. However, six moderator variables were found to statistically significantly affect the relation between the survey mode and the item nonresponse rate, namely, the target population, the number of contacts, the mode to which the web survey mode was compared, the survey sponsor, the age of the survey, and the baseline item nonresponse rate of the compared mode. The main practical implication is that while web and other survey modes differ in terms of unit nonresponse (on average), item nonresponse rates in web surveys are similar compared to other modes.

• Language: English
• Keywords: item nonresponse, nonresponse, web survey, survey mode, response rates, response rate difference, meta-analysis, systematic review
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FDV - Faculty of Social Sciences
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2023
• Number of pages: Str. 926–945
• Numbering: Vol. 41, iss. 3
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-146813
• UDC: 303.62:004.738.5
• ISSN on article: 1552-8286
• DOI: 10.1177/08944393211056229
• COBISS.SI-ID: 99554819
• Publication date in RUL: 14.06.2023

ČEHOVIN, Gregor, BOŠNJAK, Michael and LOZAR MANFREDA, Katja, 2023, Item nonresponse in web versus other survey modes : a systematic review and meta-analysis. Social science computer review [online]. 2023. Vol. 41, no. 3. [Accessed 5 April 2025]. DOI 10.1177/08944393211056229. Retrieved from: https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/IzpisGradiva.php?lang=eng&id=146813

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Social science computer review
• Publisher: SAGE
• ISSN: 1552-8286
• COBISS.SI-ID: 518324505

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: družboslovne ankete, spletne ankete