Mode Effects

Survey researchers use the term mode to refer to the way in which data are collected in the survey. Often, mode will be used to refer specifically to the way the questionnaire is administered (e.g. as a self-administered paper-and-pencil questionnaire, on the Internet, or as a face-to-face interview). However, mode can be discussed as a facet of various phases of a survey project, including sampling, contact, and recruitment, as well as the format of the questionnaire [Page 476]itself. One area of survey research and methodology looks at the impact of mode on data obtained from surveys. This area of research is generally called "the study of mode effects." At its most general, the term, mode effects, refers to any influence on survey responses that is ...