Web Survey Gamification - Increasing Data Quality in Web Surveys by using Game Design Elements

Researchers and survey designers face the challenge of low data quality as web surveys are often not compelling. Thus, participants’ engagement declines while completing a survey resulting in participants tend to apply satisficing behavior (e.g., speeding, straight-lining) in order to complete the questionnaire or even break-off the completion of the questionnaire. Due to satisficing behavior, researchers are faced with the challenge of low data quality. Addressing this challenge, survey gamification promises to make web survey participation enjoyable, which might also engage participants to complete questionnaires by providing high-quality data. However, the research on the effects of gamifying web surveys (in particular on behavioral outcomes) is still inconclusive. Addressing this short-coming, we propose to examine the effects of two common game design elements – badges and a meaningful story – in an experimental study. Based on the theoretical background of gamification and the theory of cognitive absorption, we derive hypotheses and outline in detail our experimental design in this research-in-progress paper. Our proposed research study will contribute to research and practice by addressing an important challenge when conducting online surveys: the motivation to process surveys accurately.