This study examined unit and item nonresponse rates and ancillary information provided for Web- and paper-based versions of a questionnaire administered to school counselors. Results indicate that the unit nonresponse rate was higher for the Web-based version but that the patterns of item nonresponse found generally did not differ between the media. Implications for counselors are discussed.
Alvik, A., Haldorsen, T., & Lindemann, R. (2005). Consistency of reported alcohol use by pregnant women: Anonymous versus confidential questionnaires with item nonresponse differences. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research , 29, 1444-1449.
2.
Bodenhorn, N., & Skaggs, G. (2005). Development of the school counselor self-efficacy scale. Journal of Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 38, 14-28.
3.
Bosnjak, M., & Tuten, T.L. (2001). Classifying response behaviors in Web-based surveys . Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 6, 1-14.
4.
Brener, N.D., Kann, L., & McManus, T. (2003). A comparison of two survey questions on race and ethnicity among high school students. Public Opinion Quarterly , 67, 227-236.
5.
Cole, S.T. (2005). Comparing mail and Web-based survey distribution methods: Results of surveys to leisure travel retailers. Journal of Travel Research, 43, 422-430.
6.
Colsher, P.L., & Wallace, R.B. (1989). Data quality and age: Health and psychobehavioral correlates of item nonresponse and inconsistent responses. Journals of Gerontology, 44, 45-52.
7.
Dillman, D.A. (2007). Mail and Internet surveys: The tailored design method (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley.
8.
Evans, J., Lambert, T.W., & Goldacre, M.J. (2005). Postal surveys of doctors' careers: Who writes comments and what do they write about? Quality and Quantity, 39, 217-239.
9.
Fricker, S., Galesic, M., Tourangeau, R., & Yan, T. (2005). An experimental comparison of Web and telephone surveys. Public Opinion Quarterly, 69, 370-392.
10.
Gruskin, E.P., Geiger, A.M., Gordon, N., & Ackerson, L. (2001). Characteristics of nonrespondents to questions on sexual orientation and income in a HMO survey. Journal of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, 5, 21-24.
11.
Guadagnoli, E., & Cleary, P.D. (1992). Age-related item nonresponse in surveys of recently discharged patients. Journals of Gerontology, 47, 206-212.
12.
Healey, B. (2007). Drop downs and scroll mice: The effect of response option format and input mechanism employed on data quality in Web surveys . Social Science Computer Review, 25, 111-128.
13.
Holcomb-McCoy, C.C., & Day-Vines, N. (2004). Exploring school counselor multicultural competence: A multidimensional concept. Journal of Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 37, 154-162.
14.
Johanson, G.A., Gips, C.J., & Rich, C.E. (1993). "If you can't say something nice": A variation on the social desirability response set. Evaluation Review , 17, 116-122.
15.
Kirk, R.E. (1995). Experimental design: Procedures for the behavioral sciences. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole .
16.
Klassen, R.D., & Jacobs, J. (2001). Experimental comparison of Web, electronic and mail survey technologies in operations management. Journal of Operations Management, 19, 713-728.
17.
Kwak, N., & Radler, B. (2002). A comparison between mail and Web surveys: Response pattern, respondent profile, and data quality. Journal of Official Statistics, 18, 257-273.
18.
Leece, P., Bhandari, M., Sprague, S., Swiontkowski, M.F., Schemitsch, E.H., Tornetta, P., et al. (2004). Internet versus mailed questionnaires: A controlled comparison. Journal of Medical Internet Research , 6. Retrieved January 15, 2007 , from http://www.jmir.org/2004/4/e39
19.
Little, R.J.A., & Rubin, D.B. (1987). Statistical analysis with missing data. New York: Wiley.
20.
McCabe, S.E., Diez, A., Boyd, C.J., Nelson, T.F., & Weitzman, E.R. (2006). Comparing Web and mail responses in a mixed mode survey in college alcohol use research. Addictive Behaviors, 31, 1619-1627.
21.
McNeely, R.L. (1990). Do respondents who pen comments onto mail surveys differ from other respondents? A research note on the human services job satisfaction literature. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 17, 127-137.
22.
Messmer, D.J., & Seymour, D.T. (1982). The effects of branching on item nonresponse. Public Opinion Quarterly, 46, 270-277.
23.
Pettit, F.A. (2002). A comparison of World-Wide Web and paper-and-pencil personality questionnaires. Behavior Research Methods, 34, 50-54.
24.
Pew Internet & American Life Project. ( 2007). Demographics of Internet users. Retrieved February 26, 2008, from http://www.pewinternet.org/trends.asp
25.
Rubin, D.B. (1987). Multiple imputation for nonresponse in surveys . New York: Wiley.
26.
Smyth, J.D., Dillman, D.A., Christian, L.M., & Stern, M.J. (2006). Comparing check-all and forced-choice question formats in Web surveys. Public Opinion Quarterly, 70, 66-77.
27.
Wolfe, E.W. (2003). Using logistic regression to detect item-level non-responses bias in surveys. Journal of Applied Measurement , 4, 234-248.
28.
Wolfe, E.W., & Oswald, F.L. (2006, April). Item-level non-response rates for mail and Web-based surveys. Paper presented at the annual meeting of American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA.
