The Methodology of a Quasi-Experimental, Mixed Methods Study With Different Survey Instruments

This paper discusses methodological challenges in a quasi-experimental, mixed methods study with different survey instruments. The survey instruments are an online travel diary and a tracking app. Since free choice between survey instruments and mandated use of the tracking apps for the participants were varied, we were able to draw some conclusions on survey instrument choice and tracking app usage. We found that given the choice, 10.8% of the participants used the tracking app and 89.2% the travel diary. While the response rate was generally on the lower side, likely due to recruiting from an online panel, the tracking app, in particular, yielded high self-selection rates. If not given the choice, a large portion of participants still refused to use the tracking app. Of the people agreeing to use the app, some did not follow through and some were not able to use it correctly. This was due to the complex installation process demanding a high effort as well as technical understanding from the participants. We found that more younger participants used the tracking app correctly, but there were no further differences from participants using the travel diary. Additionally, the recorded data from the app was supposed to be corrected by the participants. While the participants confirmed about three quarters of the data, additional reminders to correct the data via email did not increase this rate. This can be a problem, especially for gaps in the recorded data, that rarely appeared but followed no pattern.