What Paradata Can Tell Us Beyond Response Rates

With the general decline in survey response rates and increased utilization of mobile computing devices, many surveys are employing mixed-mode protocols with web components in order to reduce costs and increase response rates. Using paradata generated from a web survey instrument administered to an emergency department (ED) patient population after discharge, we examined the device types and methods used to access and complete the web survey and the association of these factors with the method of web survey invitation. Of the 1,581 patients who accessed the web survey, 89% completed the survey by web. Smartphone completions (59%) outnumbered computer completions (35%); tablets (5%) were the least-used device. Including a text message notification in the contact protocol resulted in the highest percentage of smartphone completions: 69% to 73% of web respondents in experimental arms with text outreach completed the survey by smartphone, compared to 53% to 58% of web respondents in arms in which email was the only form of electronic invitation. Compared to computer and tablet users, smartphone users tended to be younger, less educated, in poorer self-rated health, and be members of racial and ethnic minority groups who are often underrepresented in healthcare surveys. The results presented here have implications for surveys that include web in a mixed mode protocol by highlighting the necessity of a mobile-optimized design that accommodates smartphone users, and the potential impact of web invitations and reminder protocols.