<P> Some studies have compared the quality of face - to - face surveys and / or telephone surveys with that of online surveys, for single questions, but also for more complex concepts measured with more than one question (also called Composite Scores or Index). Focusing only on probability - based surveys (also for the online ones), they found overall that the face - to - face (using show - cards) and web surveys have quite similar levels of measurement quality, whereas the telephone surveys were performing worse . Other studies comparing paper - and - pencil questionnaires with web - based questionnaires showed that employees preferred online survey approaches to the paper - and - pencil format . There are also concerns about what has been called "ballot stuffing" in which employees make repeated responses to the same survey . Some employees are also concerned about privacy . Even if they do not provide their names when responding to a company survey, can they be certain that their anonymity is protected? Such fears prevent some employees from expressing an opinion . </P> <Ul> <Li> Web surveys are faster, simpler, and cheaper . However, lower costs are not so straightforward in practice, as they are strongly interconnected to errors . Because response rate comparisons to other survey modes are usually not favourable for online surveys, efforts to achieve a higher response rate (e.g., with traditional solicitation methods) may substantially increase costs . </Li> <Li> The entire data collection period is significantly shortened, as all data can be collected and processed in little more than a month . </Li> <Li> Interaction between the respondent and the questionnaire is more dynamic compared to e-mail or paper surveys . Online surveys are also less intrusive, and they suffer less from social desirability effects . </Li> <Li> Complex skip patterns can be implemented in ways that are mostly invisible to the respondent . </Li> <Li> Pop - up instructions can be provided for individual questions to provide help with questions exactly where assistance is required . </Li> <Li> Questions with long lists of answer choices can be used to provide immediate coding of answers to certain questions that are usually asked in an open - ended fashion in paper questionnaires . </Li> <Li> Online surveys can be tailored to the situation (e.g., respondents may be allowed save a partially completed form, the questionnaire may be preloaded with already available information, etc .). </Li> <Li> Online questionnaires may be improved by applying usability testing, where usability is measured with reference to the speed with which a task can be performed, the frequency of errors and user satisfaction with the interface . </Li> </Ul> <Li> Web surveys are faster, simpler, and cheaper . However, lower costs are not so straightforward in practice, as they are strongly interconnected to errors . Because response rate comparisons to other survey modes are usually not favourable for online surveys, efforts to achieve a higher response rate (e.g., with traditional solicitation methods) may substantially increase costs . </Li> <Li> The entire data collection period is significantly shortened, as all data can be collected and processed in little more than a month . </Li>

Use of survey as an instrument for data collection