A meta-analysis of how country-level factors affect web survey response rates

Jessica Daikeler, Henning Silber, and Michael Bošnjak

A major challenge in web-based cross-cultural data collection is varying response rates, which can result in low data quality and non-response bias.

Survey Response in a Cross-Cultural Setting

In an increasingly globalized world, cross-national research and thus cross-national datasets have grown in popularity in academic research. At the same time, concerns about methodological issues related to cross-national surveys have been growing. One such methodological concern is the differences in response rates across countries. Using data from large, representative samples of consumers from 11 countries of the European Union, Baumgartner and Steenkamp (2001) found that survey participants' response styles had systematic effects, in particular with respect to the proportion of reverse-scored items and midpoint scores. They also found that these style differences could...

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