Pixels vs. Paper: Comparing Online and Traditional Survey Methods in Sport Psychology
in Journal of Sport and Exercise PsychologyClick name to view affiliation
The purpose of this study was to compare participant responses to a questionnaire delivered via the Internet with data collected using a traditional paper and pencil format distributed via postal mail. Athletes (N = 214, mean age 26.53 years) representing 18 sports from the New Zealand Academy of Sport were randomly assigned into two groups and completed the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ; Raedeke & Smith, 2001). There was a noticeable trend (p = .07, two-tailed) toward a better response rate in the online group (57.07%) compared with the postal group (46.63%). Furthermore, online questionnaires were returned faster and contained fewer missing responses. A series of nested, multigroup confirmatory factor analyses indicated that there were no significant group differences in the factor structure or latent mean structures of the ABQ.
All authors were with the School of Physical Education, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, at the time of this study. C. Lonsdale is now with the Dept. of Sports Sciences and Physical Education, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong.
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