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Acceptance of the Automated Online Collection of Geographical Information
[journal article]
Abstract The ease at which online paradata can be captured in web surveys seems to increase social researchers’ desire to collect such data. Yet little attention is paid to whether respondents actually approve of their collection. This article, therefore, studies online survey respondents’ acceptance of auto... view more
The ease at which online paradata can be captured in web surveys seems to increase social researchers’ desire to collect such data. Yet little attention is paid to whether respondents actually approve of their collection. This article, therefore, studies online survey respondents’ acceptance of automatically collecting their geographical locations. In wave 4 of the German Internet Panel, we asked respondents for their consent to automatically track their location using a JavaScript. Respondents were also asked to report their location in a set of traditional survey questions. About 62 percent of respondents consented to the automated collection of their location whereas 97 percent provided their location manually. With respect to consent biases, we find evidence that the composition of the achieved sample of geo-located respondents is biased and that the personal characteristics associated with respondents’ willingness to be geo-located differ between the automated tracking and manual provision of geo-information.... view less
Keywords
data; data capture; online survey; data collection method; location; data acquisition; survey research
Classification
Methods and Techniques of Data Collection and Data Analysis, Statistical Methods, Computer Methods
Free Keywords
paradata; informed consent; consent bias; geographical information; data confidentiality; ZA5866: German Internet Panel, Wave 1 - Core Study (September 2012); ZA5869: German Internet Panel, Wave 4 (March 2013)
Document language
English
Publication Year
2022
Page/Pages
p. 866-886
Journal
Sociological Methods & Research, 51 (2022) 2
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124119882480
ISSN
1552-8294
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed