While the responses to my Oregon Trail Survey continue to come, I am beginning to see trends in the data as well as the habits of users taking an online survey. It would be inappropriate for me to comment on the survey results while it is still in progress; however the process by which people are taking the survey is fair game.
Lots of users are starting but never completely finishing the survey. Approximately 77% of those who have taken the survey have completed the first set of questions never complete the entire thing. My own theory is that this has to do with the introduction of short answer questions. Although the survey is prefaced by a consent form that estimates the survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete, I don’t think all users understand the depth of questions I ask. This seems to be true with people who completed the survey, but left most of the short answer questions blank.
A limitation on my research through this survey has been the ability for users to choose what questions they will or will not answer. My college’s institutional review board required this unless I had gone through a lengthy review process. As it was, I had to wait three weeks for the approval of this survey. What I am left wondering is if and how making questions mandatory would affect the results. Would less people be willing to take the survey? Would certain groups of people be less likely to take the survey as a result?