Do online access panels really need to allow and adapt surveys to mobile devices?

Researchers are more and more interested in the possibility of using mobile web for completing surveys, because they have observed that some respondents already try to complete web surveys via mobile devices, even when this is unintended. However, there is only little evidence of how large is the need for mobile surveys nowadays (in general and, mostly, in different countries) and what is the potentiality of using mobile web in survey completion. This lack of knowledge is even more important in the frame of commercial panels that do not provide mobile devices to people if they do not have them at their disposal yet. In this chapter, data from the Netquest online panel, collected in a wide set of countries (Spain, Portugal and Latin American countries), are used in order to evaluate what is the current need to offer web panellists the option of taking part in surveys via mobile devices. Revilla et al. (2014) studied the spread of smartphones and tablets among the Netquest panellists and examine to which kind of devices people have prevalently access to. However, they show that a large proportion of panellists have access to several devices (PC and mobile). Therefore, their participation through mobile to a survey not only depends on the access but also on their preferences. Thus, we go one step further and we evaluate how common is the use of mobile devices in current Netquest surveys. Next, we look at the willingness of the panellists to participate in surveys specifically adapted to mobile devices. Finally, we compare the propensity of respondents to participate in a survey by computers rather than by mobile devices, when the choice between the two options is available. This overview of what is the current situation is a first important step in order to determine which strategies commercial online panels should develop in the future for the mobile devices surveys.