International Journal of Internet Science, Volume 4, Issue 1

Volume 4, Issue 1 (2009)

The Coverage Bias of Mobile Web Surveys Across European Countries
Marek Fuchs, Britta Busse
Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany

Abstract: In recent years, mobile devices are increasingly considered to access the Word Wide Web. Several survey research organizations are about to use this technology as a means of conducting self-administered surveys. Among other advantages it allows survey researchers to overcome the lack of random selection procedures in online surveys since it provides the opportunity to use RDD-like probability sampling of cell phone numbers. However, low penetration rates of smart phones raise concerns that the coverage bias of a mobile Web survey might in fact harm survey estimates considerably. In this paper, we report results of a simulation study on the coverage bias of the mobile Web population across European countries. Based on a subset of the Eurobarometer data we estimate the relative coverage bias of the smart phone population in contrast to the general population. Even though we observed an incline of the mobile Web penetration rates over the course of the past years, coverage biases were still considerably large for socio-demographic variables. Nevertheless, in a few European countries mobile Web coverage biases are already smaller than the coverage biases of the population with traditional landline Internet access.

Keywords: Mobile Web, smart phone, data collection, data quality, survey

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Editorial Board

Michael Birnbaum (California State University at Fullerton, USA)
Tom Buchanan (Westminster University, UK)
Don Dillman (Washington State University, USA)
Frank Faulbaum (University Duisburg-Essen, Germany)
Adam Joinson (Open University, UK)
John Krantz (Hanover College, USA)
Han Woo Park (Yeungnam University, South Korea)
Chris Snijders (Eindhoven University of Technology, NL)
Barry Wellman (University of Toronto, Canada)

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The International Journal of Internet Science is an interdisciplinary, peer reviewed journal for the publication of research articles about empirical findings, methodology, and theory in the field of Internet Science. It provides an outlet for articles on the Internet as a medium of research and its implications for individuals, social groups, organizations, and society.

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