Befragtenverhalten bei Touchscreen-Befragungen.

Touchscreen-Surveys are a new form of data collection which were recently presented in this journal (issue 3/2003). In this article, the behaviour of respondents is analysed, using the data of 11 completed survey projects, as well as additional research (using the same questionnaire in face-to-face and/or paper & pencil surveys; observation of respondents, interviews with drop-outs). For analytical purposes, the process of touchscreen-interviewing is divided into three stages: attracting interested persons, convincing them to take part in the survey and keeping their motivation to give answers up to the last question. It can be shown that the projects had different 'success' in the three stages and for each phase certain factors can be identified. In order to attract people, the location of the terminal as well as an eye-catching design of the start-screen are crucial; following up, it is important to make clear what kind of terminal it is, as most people would rather expect an information or entertainment offer, but not a request to take part in a survey. Therefore the information provided on the start-screen should be clear, additional announcements like posters or instructions on the admission ticket can be useful. The third challenge is to hold the motivation of respondents so that they answer all questions. Like web-surveys, touchscreen-interviewing is characterised by a relatively large number of drop-outs, but as it can be shown only a small part of them are caused by extrinsic reasons (like accompanying persons). Therefore the conception of the survey (interesting topics, clear wording) are of high importance as they should be able to maintain the peoples’ interest, while a clear design and good usability has to enable and support their co-operation. Although most of the drop-outs break off after the first question(s), the length of the interview could be shown as still being the crucial factor for the completion rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]