Intention To Participate In Web Surveys

With the development of Internet and the soaring number of cyber citizens in China (up to Dec.2008, Netizens and Internet penetration rate in China have reached 3 billion and 22.6%, respectively), Web-based or Web survey is more and more frequently used in such fields as commercial, government, and academic research. However, theoretical research related to web survey is far behind the practice in China. The focus of the thesis is on investigation of factors pertaining to the participation intention of web survey from incentive and psychological perspectives. Research and according findings involving in the thesis as follows:Firstly, author considered the measurement invariance between web survey and traditional surveys under the Chinese culture or the collectivistic culture. This thesis employed multi-group confirmatory factor analysis to examine measurement invariance of personal innovativeness scales under traditional paper and pencil survey, Web survey based on BBS, and Web survey based on websites, respectively. The results indicated that the three survey modes had measurement invariance in the domain of the self-evaluation. However, because of situation-dependence caused by culture surroundings, the three modes revealed different means and variances of latent variables. The results demonstrated that a well design web survey had equal psychometrics to, if not more than, paper and pencil survey.Secondly, the thesis investigated the effectiveness of incentive in Web survey using meta-analysis. Three meta-analyses examined the effect of incentives in web surveys. The first analysis securitized the impact of material incentives on retention. A significant effect was revealed, indicating that material incentives motivated people to complete a Web survey. The second analysis checked the impact of promised incentives on retention and the results indicated that promised incentives could urge the participants to complete the Web survey. The last analysis examined contingent incentives on retention. The results also demonstrated that offering contingent incentives could exert a positive impact on retention. Thirdly, eight types of incentives used in Web surveys were examined, and results indicated that different incentive tactics exerted different effects on web survey participation intention. Postpaid incentive, no matter of cash, real material, virtual material, exerted the most effect on participation intention, while psychological incentive exhibited the least effect on survey participation intention.Fourthly, in view of the fact that incentive perspective research cannot explain the phenomenon that even after controlling for the types and value of the incentive, web surveys show distinct participation rates in practice. This thesis considered whether potential respondent's psychological factors (topic involvement and status cognition) could moderate the effect of incentive on participation intention. After controlling for the type of incentive, the results demonstrated that significant negative moderation effects appeared, and the strength of effects even could negate the role of incentive.Fifthly, designing three distinct experiments and employing within-subject measurement, the thesis inspected roles of status cognition of survey sponsor and investigator on participation intention. The results illustrated that the role of sponsor's status cognition was far more important than that of investigator. When the survey sponsor possesses low status cognition and assigns a survey to a high status cognition investigator, participation intention cannot be necessarily increased.Sixthly, and last, the thesis proposed a research model from a psychological perspective based on theory of reasoned action. We empirically examined the role of attitude, social norm, moral obligation, trust in sponsor of survey, topic involvement, topic sensitivity, and reputation of the sponsor. The results indicated that attitudes, social norm, moral obligation, status cognition, and reputation of sponsor could positively influence the intention to participate in web survey after controlling for demographic factors such as age, gender, education level and net usage (year). Additionally, personality of potential respondents was investigated so as to verify the conjecture that some individuals were naturally unlike to participate in Web surveys. The results vindicated the conjecture.