Data Collection Mode Effect on Abortion Questions: A Comparison of Face-To-Face and Web Surveys

This study aims to assess the data collection mode effects (face-to-face vs web surveys) on abortion-related attitudinal questions, using the 2012 American National Election Studies. The results show that face-to-face respondents are more likely to provide opinionated and informative answers, including which issues they favor and oppose. Also, web respondents are more likely than face-to-face respondents to answer “neither agree nor disagree.” In addition, the item nonresponse rate for a Web survey is higher than for a face-to- face survey with three questions. The analysis shows that mode effects exist in both substantive responses and item nonresponses for the abortion questions.