Authors: Bethlehem, Jelke
Overview
Web surveys, at first glance, appear to be an appealing method for data collection. They offer simple, cost-effective, and rapid access to a broad spectrum of potential respondents. However, they are not devoid of methodological challenges. Certain demographic groups are underrepresented due to limited Internet access. Moreover, respondent recruitment often relies on self-selection, which can introduce bias. This paper outlines these methodological issues and explores the efficacy of various corrective measures such as adjustment weighting and reference surveys. It raises the question of whether well-designed web surveys can effectively gather data. The paper concludes that while under-coverage issues may resolve over time, self-selection remains a significant factor leading to unreliable survey results.
Keywords: Adjustment weighting, bias, online survey, reference survey, self-selection, under-coverage, web survey.
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