Comparison of mail and web survey modes on firms in organized industrial zones (OIZs)

Although there are studies on the comparison of mail and web survey modes on different populations in terms of data quality indicators in the literature, it is seen that there are very few studies on comparing these two modes on firms. On the other hand, there is no study to compare mail and web survey modes in national literature. At the same time, no study has been encountered in the international literature to compare these two data collection methods in the context of organized industrial zone (OIZ). The purpose of this study is to compare mail and web survey modes in terms of data quality indicators and response rates on the firms in the production stage in OIZs. The research consists of two stages and two different questionnaires, both of which included partly repetitive questions, were applied in internet and mail mode. The number of firms responding to the 1st stage questionnaire of the survey is 847, while the number of firms answering the 2nd stage questionnaire of the survey is 343. As a result of the analyzes, when web survey mode and mail survey mode are compared in the context of response rates, it is seen that web survey mode had a higher response rate. Primacy effect, although not for all, are higher for some questions in web survey mode. In general, the consistency of the answers to repeated questions is high and does not differ by survey mode. Straightlining does not vary by survey mode in general. On the other hand, item nonresponse in mail questionnaires does not differ according to the survey stages. When the findings were evaluated in a holistic approach, it was observed that survey modes did not show a large difference in terms of data quality on the firms in OIZs in the context of Turkey. The findings obtained from this study are generalizable because firms are determined by random sampling. The results are expected to make a significant contribution to both national and international literature in terms of comparing data quality in OIZs. In addition, this study has a special importance because it carries characteristics of establishment survey. Findings and fieldwork determinations indicate that use of web survey mode will be useful in future research for OIZs in Turkey.