Web Survey’s Completion Rates: Effects of Forced Responses, Question Display Styles, and Subjects’ Attitude

Abstract

In anticipating a high completion rate for web surveys, researchers must be attentive to the design features, two of which are the forced responses (i.e., 100%-, 50%, or 0%-forced) and the questionnaire item display (i.e., paging or scrolling). Moreover, the respondents’ favorable attitude towards questionnaires is a key factor driving them to complete the questionnaires. However, no studies have examined the effects of these three variables on web survey completion rates. This research thus attempts to fill this gap. Using a quasi-experiment, we obtained 401 responses to six (i.e., 3 levels of forced responses x 2 display styles) comparable online questionnaires with identical contents. The analysis confirmed the statistically significant effects of the forced responses, the item display and the subjects’ attitudes toward questionnaires on completion rates. In addition to extending theoretical insights into the factors leading to a web survey’s completion rates, practical recommendations are suggested based on the findings.