Social issues in the administration of information systems survey research

Survey responses differ between direct paper and pencil (manual) administration and Internet-based (electronic) survey data collection methods. Social dynamics (issues) play an important role in influencing respondent participation. A review of the existing literature suggests that the medium and administration context affect differences in instrument performance parameters, i.e., response rate, participation ease, attractiveness of survey, novelty effect, administrative costs, response flexibility, response time, population size, sample bias, instrument validity, the management of non-response data, and response error. This chapter attempts to identify, describe and map the differences between survey data collection media as a function of selected social variables.