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5.9 Paper or online surveys? 125

In reality, the relative strengths and weaknesses of online and paper surveys gen-
erally do not influence which one is used. One major influence on which method (or
combination) is used is how the researchers have best access to the user population
of interest. In some cases, the best access is to visit individuals at a weekly meeting
where paper surveys can be passed out. In other situations, if a list of postal mail-
ing addresses exists for potential respondents, paper surveys can be mailed. If a list
of e-mail addresses exists, e-mailed surveys may be best. Another major influence
on which method (paper, e-mail, or web) is used, is the ease of developing online
surveys, using existing web-based tools which allow a survey to be posted and dis-
tributed in minutes (although, honestly, such a rushed job is likely to lead to design
problems and errors). These web-based tools include SurveyMonkey, SurveyPlanet,
FreeOnlineForms.com, and Google Forms, and they certainly influence many re-
searchers to use a web-based survey, even if there are good methodological reasons
to choose another format. Web-based surveys are now the most frequently used for-
mat of survey research.
Sometimes, a combination of paper and web-based surveys can be used to make
sure that all portions of a target population are reached (Lazar et al., 1999). It is also
sometimes helpful to offer respondents a choice between a paper and an electronic
version of the survey, as some research suggests that some people may simply prefer
filling out surveys on paper (Schonlau et al., 2003). These mixed-model designs, in
which paper, e-mail, and web-based versions of a survey instrument are used together,
can help improve the response rate, but caution must be taken to make sure that no bi-
ases are introduced into the data collection process (from three survey instruments that,
in fact, do have minor differences) (Couper, 2005). Obviously, paper surveys must be
used to study questions such as “why don't people go online?” and other research ques-
tions related to nonuse of technology (Lazar and Preece, 2001). Another potential com-
plication is that you may need to offer your survey in multiple languages. In countries
where there are multiple official languages, this may be a legal requirement (Normand
et al., 2014). In other cases, you may be interested in studying a group of computer
users who do not share the same primary language. If so, you need to ensure that the
surveys in two or three different languages are in fact asking the same questions and
that there are no mistranslations. Professional human translation is necessary in such a
scenario (automated tools for translation are not sufficient for the task).
There are benefits to electronic (both e-mail and web-based) surveys. Copying
costs, mailing, and related postage costs can be eliminated with electronic surveys
(perhaps having only the cost of sending out paper letters notifying potential par-
ticipants, when needed). While the set-up costs may be high for a custom devel-
oped web-based survey, using existing web-based survey tools when possible, make
web-based surveys the most cost effective in terms of time and expenses (Sue and
Ritter, 2007). In most cases, web-based surveys and even e-mailed surveys can au-
tomatically have responses saved in a spreadsheet or database, eliminating the need
for time-consuming data entry and eliminating many data entry errors (Lazar and
Preece, 2001). While response rates in online surveys may sometime be lower, the
speed of response is certainly higher (Sue and Ritter, 2007), as is the speed of analy-
sis by researchers (Müller et al., 2014).