Gamification of Survey Research: Empirical Results from Gamifying a Conjoint Experiment

One of the most important tools utilized by the marketing research industry is the consumer survey. This self-reported data is the foundation of many currently applied methodologies for measuring the success of marketing campaigns and strategies (Evans & Mathur 2005). As such, suppliers in the marketing research industry rely on the engagement and attentiveness of the individuals who participate in their research and respond to their surveys. Keeping these respondents engaged is important for reducing the drop-off rate (the rate at which respondents quit before completing a survey), increasing time spent on surveys (which is linked to the quality and quantity of responses), and improving respondents’ subjective enjoyment (since a happy respondent is more likely to complete future surveys). There is evidence to suggest that engagement has an influence on data quality as well, since bored or inattentive respondents produce lower quality data (Cape, 2009). Keeping respondents engaged and willing to participate in research is critical both to industry providers and to clients who use the results of the research for their decision making. Recently, gamification has become a popular way to increase engagement and participation in tasks that would otherwise be considered work (Deterding, Dixon, Nacke, O’Hara, & Sicart, 2011; Von Ahn & Dabbish, 2008). Researchers have