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Professor Louisa Ha Introduced the New Age of Online Survey

Thanks to the rapid development online network, researchers today are able to integrate the smart devices with online survey for collecting data. On 7th May, Taiwan Institute for Governance and Communication Research Center (TIGCR) are honored to invite the editor of Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Professor Louisa Ha from Bowling Green University to deliver public speech titled “Research Method Development in Mobile and Online Surveys”. Ha shared her research insights with the perspective of mobile and online survey.

The speech was hosted by Trisha, T. C. Lin, Chair of International Research and Collaboration Committee of TIGCR and Associate Professor of Department of Radio and Television of NCCU. Lin introduced Ha with her great contribution to mass media field and warmly welcome her at the beginning of the speech. Ha then started with online survey development and indicated the convivence of smartphone as one of the devices in web survey, which can easily reach respondents compared to other devices.

Professor Ha delivered a public speech

(Photo credit: TIGCR)

Professor Ha's speech video

(Video credit: TIGCR)

Ha also suggested the major differences between the web survey on smartphones and PCs: the screen size, response entry (keyboard vs. touch screen) and location/setting. She mentioned the convenience and instability of using smartphones as response devices, such as the stability of cellular internet connection, different performance in various smartphone brands and coverage biases. By sharing the findings of her research, she used field experiment to compare the response data quality of smartphones and PCs in web survey. Ha found that majority of respondents were more likely to use smartphones than PCs since the overall time of using PCs is less than smartphones. Meanwhile, the function of immediate response and recall also makes respondents and researchers more favor in smartphone when conducting web survey.

Ha further shared another research “Data Quality and Response Rate Comparison between Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) and Computer Assisted Self-Administered Interview (CASI)”. She compared the data collected in three dimensions and found that CASI is better in data quality, cooperation rate and completion time than CAPI. After the speech, participants actively raised related questions and the discussed issues further touched big data analysis.

The speech was attended by almost a hundred students and the faculty of NCCU. 

(Photo credit: TIGCR)

 

In the afternoon, TIGCR invited Ha to attend the close-door discussion. She shared the practical experiences of research interview in Taiwan and United State. She was amazed with the database established by TIGCR and highly expected future achievement of TIGCR.

 

TIGCR Associate Director, Professor Chingching Chang introduced TIGCR.

(Photo credit: TIGCR)

Group photo after talks

(Photo credit: TIGCR)

References

Ha, Louisa S., and Chenjie Zhang. 2019. "Are Computers Better Than Smartphones for Web Survey Responses?" Online Information Review 43(3): 350-68.

Moy, Patricia, and Joe Murphy. 2016. “Problems and Prospects in Survey Research.” Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 93(1): 16-37.