We are going to focus on another research method used in the field of market research. Today’s topic is about computer-assisted web interviewing (CAWI). Wondering what that means?
A CAWI method is an Internet survey technique in which the interviewer follows a script provided on the website. The questionnaires are rendered in an online interview program. The program allows the questionnaire to contain pictures, audio and video clips, links to different web pages, etc. The website can customize the flow of the questionnaire on the basis of the answers provided, as well as the information already known about the participant. It's considered a better way to sample, because you don't need to hire individuals to perform surveys, unlike computer-assisted voice interviews.
With the increasing use of the Internet, online questionnaires have become a popular way to gather information. The design of an online questionnaire often affects the quality of the data collected. There are many factors in the design of an online questionnaire; guidance, available question formats, administration, quality and ethical issues should be reviewed.
When considering the CAWI technique, careful care must be paid to the nature of the questionnaire, because the accuracy of the data gathered would be directly proportional to the consistency of the questionnaire itself.
There are a number of reasons why someone would use online questionnaires as their preferred test method. A few of the benefits and drawbacks of this approach we are going to summarize in the following lines.
CAWI is convenient for several reasons. Here’s a list of them:
· Custom questionnaire: if the questionnaire is well-designed, it automatically manages the question path using logical conditions such as display or skip logic;
· More clarity: the questionnaire can be designed to promote interpretation and improve the answer rate;
· Guides: you could add guidance to help the respondent understand and complete the survey. This is preferred because of the lack of involvement of an actual interviewer;
· Reduced prices: there are no risks involved with the purchasing of mobile devices;
· Reduced time: the time needed to analyze the data is reduced because the data is sent to the admin database in real time. Some apps help you to get real-time survey results and information about the data gathered and the email campaign.
Unfortunately, there are also a range of drawbacks that may affect the consistency of science. For example, the absence of the interviewer as a guide and assistance in completing the questionnaire.
Here are some other big shortcomings of the CAWI investigation:
· Not everyone has access to the Internet, so there is a limited response rate.
· Many people are not willing to complete questionnaires online.
· Reports show that demographic answers to online questionnaire invites are typically skewed towards younger people.
We will let you decide for yourselves if the after seeing some of the advantages and disadvantages you will find this method best suited for your preferences or not.
Meanwhile, it’s good to know that DataDiggers does CAWI in all the countries where we own strong and fast growing proprietary online panels across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas, as well as around the world via carefully chosen local partners. If needed so, we can also do CAWI based on client-supplied email lists.
Aside from regular consumers, we are able to pre-target various audiences, such as IT Decision Makers, Business Decision Makers, C-Level employees, employees working in specific industries, mothers of babies, mothers of kids, pet owners, travelers, smokers etc. and also healthcare ones – doctors, nurses, pharmacists and patients.
Here is the full list of services we handle for our customers in terms of CAWI:
Ø Sample only (meaning we only provide the sample, while client is coming up with the programmed survey link)
Ø Full service (including programming, hosting, sample and data delivery)
Ø Survey programming and hosting
Ø Questionnaire localization
Ø Real-time reporting
Ø Data processing
Ø Coding
Ø Translation of questionnaire or verbatims.
To end this article, it is crucial to monitor data quality and reliability in CAWI surveys. While the survey is ongoing, it is advisable to check for full and partial interviews. So, you can check whether too complex (or long) questions can cause higher dropout rates or lead the respondent to random and rushed answers.
The level of happiness of the respondents is another significant detail. You can get an idea of inserting a rating question at the end of the interview or comparing the number of completed questionnaires to the number of drop-outs. Monitoring and correction of questionnaire deficiencies is crucial in order to obtain reliable data for high-quality analysis.
In conclusion, to create an effective web survey, you need to be very careful and follow specific rules that will help you achieve great results at a very low cost.
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