Mobile versus PC: Does Device Type Affect Online Survey Response Quality for Tourism Research?

The use of mobile devices to complete online surveys is trending upward and is likely to continue unabated for some time. With this growth, there is a growing interest in how to make mobile devices a viable way to administer self-report online surveys among researchers. Utilizing a large-scale online panel survey, the current study compares the quality and pattern of responses collected from mobile device respondents to those collected from PC/laptop respondents. It is found that although mobile respondents tended to provide shorter answers to open-ended questions than PC/laptop respondents, response quality was not significantly different between the two groups. Additionally, compared to PC/laptop respondents, mobile device respondents were younger, more likely to be female and with a higher income level. Practical implications related to our research findings are also discussed