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This review focuses on recent methodological and technological developments in survey data collection. Surveys are facing unprecedented challenges from both societal and technological changes. Against this backdrop, I review the survey profession's response to these challenges and developments to enhance and extend the survey tool. I discuss the decline in random digit dialing and the rise of address-based sampling, along with the corresponding shift from telephone surveys to self-administered (mail and/or Web) modes. I discuss the rise in nonprobability sampling approaches, especially those associated with online data collection. I also review so-called big data alternatives to surveys. Finally, I discuss a number of recent methodological and technological trends designed to modernize the survey method. I conclude that although they face a number of major challenges, surveys remain a robust and flexible method for collecting data on, and making inference to, populations.

"In this paper the author reviews three key technology-related trends: 1) big data, 2) non-probability samples, and 3) mobile data collection. He focusses on the implications of these trends for survey research and the research profession. With regard to big data, he reviews a number of concerns that need to be addressed, and argue for a balanced and careful evaluation of the role that big data can play in the future. The author argues that these developments are unlikely to replace transitional survey data collection, but will supplement surveys and expand the range of research methods. He also argues for the need for the survey research profession to adapt to changing circumstances." (author's abstract)

We explore the effect of offering an open-ended comment field in a Web survey to reduce the
threat of sensitive questions. Two experiments were field in a probability-based Web panel in
the Netherlands. For a set of 10 items on attitudes to immigrants, a random half were offered
the opportunity to explain or clarify their responses, with the hypothesis being that doing so
would reduce the need to choose socially desirable answers, resulting in higher levels of
prejudice. Across two experiments, we find significant effects contrary to our hypothesis – the
opportunity to comment decreased the level of prejudice reported, and longer comments were
associated with more tolerant attitudes among those who were offered the comment field.

While the Internet allows statistical surveys to be done quicker & easier then ever before, there are still several problems that need to be addressed with this new method. There is the problem of the quality of the surveys that are based on the Web. They vary from a simple set of questions to full-based probability-based designs. There is a need to educate the general public, clients, & sponsors of the indicators of quality of these surveys. Also research needs to be done on the coverage, nonresponse, & measurement error properties of Web-based surveys. Sometimes the restricted population of the Internet does not have significance in surveys, & these instances need to be known. Altogether, more research into this new method of data collection is needed for Web surveys to be used responsibly. 69 References. R. Larsen

Concludes that declining participation in the census reflects a decline in the sense of attachment and civic duty toward the polity, and increasing alienation from society's central institutions; US. Based on a national probability sample of 2,760 households and data from the Survey of Census Participation (SCP).

Abstract
Ownership of a bank account is an objective measure and should be relatively easy to elicit via survey questions. Yet, depending on the interview mode, the wording of the question and its placement within the survey may influence respondents' answers. The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) asset module, as administered online to members of the Understanding America Study (UAS), yielded substantially lower rates of reported bank account ownership than either a single question on ownership in the Current Population Survey (CPS) or the full asset module administered to HRS panelists (both interviewer-administered surveys). We designed and implemented an experiment in the UAS comparing the original HRS question eliciting bank account ownership with two alternative versions that were progressively simplified. We document strong evidence that the original question leads to systematic underestimation of bank account ownership. In contrast, the proportion of bank account owners obtained from the simplest alternative version of the question is very similar to the population benchmark estimate. We investigate treatment effect heterogeneity by cognitive ability and financial literacy. We find that questionnaire simplification affects responses of individuals with higher cognitive ability substantially less than those with lower cognitive ability. Our results suggest that high-quality data from surveys start from asking the right questions, which should be as simple and precise as possible and carefully adapted to the mode of interview.

"The use of open-ended questions in survey research has a very long history. In this paper, building on the work of Paul F. Lazarsfeld and Howard Schuman, we review the methodological uses of open-ended questions and verbatim responses in surveys. We draw on prior research, our own and that of others, to argue for increasing the use of open-ended questions in quantitative surveys. The addition of open-ended questions - and the capture and analysis of respondents' verbatim responses to other types of questions - may yield important insights, not only into respondents' substantive answers, but also into how they understand the questions we ask and arrive at an answer. Adding a limited number of such questions to computerized surveys, whether self- or interviewer-administered, is neither expensive nor time-consuming, and in our experience respondents are quite willing and able to answer such questions." (author's abstract)

"This paper reports on a series of experiments to explore ways to use the technology of Web surveys to help respondents provide well-formed answers to questions that may be difficult to answer. Specifically, we focus on the use of drop-down or select lists and JavaScript lookup tables as alternatives to open text fields for the collection of information on prescription drugs. The first two experiments were conducted among members of opt-in panels in the U.S. The third experiment was conducted in the 2013 Health and Retirement Study Internet Survey. Respondents in each of the studies were randomly assigned to one of three input methods: text field, drop box, or JavaScript lookup, and asked to provide the names of prescription drugs they were taking. We compare both the quality of answers obtained using the three methods, and the effort (time) taken to provide such answers. We examine differences in performance on the three input format types by key respondent demographics and Internet experience. We discuss some of the technical challenges of implementing complex question types and offer some recommendations for the use of such tools in Web surveys." (author's abstract)