Optimizing Probing Procedures for Cross-National Web Surveys

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Michael Braun
• Subject Area: Empirical Social Research
• Term: from 2012 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 225355304

This project is planned as a follow-up to the project ¿Enhancing the Validity of Intercultural Comparative Surveys: The Use of Supplemental Probing Techniques in Internet Surveys¿ (#574187). The first project aimed at (1) developing a general method of incorporating probing questions in web surveys, (2) implementing these probing questions in cross-national web surveys, with respondents drawn from online access panels, and (3) using the qualitative data to draw conclusions on the comparability of cross-national survey items. We were able to establish the general feasibility and usefulness of the approach. The follow-up project aims at optimizing the probing technique for future use in cross-national projects. This shall be achieved by reducing probe non-response or insufficient and mismatching probe answers through interactive processes. The focus will be on design techniques such as probe follow-ups, different motivational means and devices as well as probe combinations. Furthermore, the online studies are planned to run alongside the new modules of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP). Items from these modules will be used and probed in our surveys; important background information on the comparability of items can thus be collected in temporal proximity to the ISSP studies. Overall, the project contributes to improving data and research quality in cross-national survey research. It presents tools which allow to improve the design of cross-national studies or, alternatively, which allow to assess and look into already existing data.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Persons: Dr. Wolfgang Bandilla; Dr. Lars Kaczmirek