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In anticipating a high completion rate for web surveys, researchers must be attentive to the design features, two of which are the forced responses (i.e., 100%-, 50%, or 0%-forced) and the questionnaire item display (i.e., paging or scrolling). Moreover, the respondents’ favorable attitude towards questionnaires is a key factor driving them to complete the questionnaires. However, no studies have examined the effects of these three variables on web survey completion rates. This research thus attempts to fill this gap. Using a quasi-experiment, we obtained 401 responses to six (i.e., 3 levels of forced responses x 2 display styles) comparable online questionnaires with identical contents. The analysis confirmed the statistically significant effects of the forced responses, the item display and the subjects’ attitudes toward questionnaires on completion rates. In addition to extending theoretical insights into the factors leading to a web survey’s completion rates, practical recommendations are suggested based on the findings.

Researchers have increasingly adopted a web survey for data collection. Previous studies have examined factors leading to a web survey’s success. However, virtually no empirical work has examined the effects of the three levels of forced responses or the two styles of question items displayed on a web survey’s response rate. The current study attempted to fill this void. Using a quasi-experiment approach, we obtained 778 unique responses to six comparable web questionnaires of identical content. The analysis confirmed that (1) there were statistically significant differences across the surveys with the 100%-, 50%- and 0%-forced responses, and (2) there is not a significant difference between the response rates between surveys with scrolling and those with paging styles. In addition to extending the theoretical insight into factors contributing to a web survey’s response rate, the findings have offered recommendations to enhance the response rate in a web survey project.