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Comparing Mail and Web-Based Survey Distribution Methods: Results of Surveys to Leisure Travel Retailers

Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri

Findings from existing research that compares Web-based survey and traditional survey methods have been inconclusive. This study compares responses from a Web-based survey and those from a paper-and-pencil survey in terms of response rates, data quality, demographic profiles of respondents, internal consistency of scales, and responses to items among American Society of Travel Agents members. Two samples from the same population were randomly assigned to receive the questionnaire either by e-mail notices or by postal mail. Several differences were found between the Web-based survey and the paper-and-pencil survey. The response rate to the Web-based survey was lower than that to the mail survey. The Web-based survey had more missing data fields than the mail survey. The two groups differed in 15.3% of the total items in the data set. Web respondents’ mean scores to the five scales were consistently lower than those of mail respondents.

Key Words: Web-based survey • response rate • modes of survey distribution

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