!

"#$%&'()*%+,
The Modern
The number one something else is
watching TV. Almost half of
multi-tasking survey takers
are watching TV.
!"#$
%&'
In traditional methods
(telephone and face-to-face)

In traditional methods we assume
that the interviewer has the
respondents undivided attention.
There may be distractions for the
|nterv|ewer but these are feet|ng,
and in the case of face-to-face
might equally be distractions for
the interviewer.
-
In online methods
(online and mobile)

ln on||ne, and |ncreas|ng|y so
now that on||ne |nc|ude mob||e,
the environment in which the
survey is being taken may start
to play are part. Where is the
respondent? Is it quiet where
they are? Is the respondent
concentrating solely on the
survey?
-
Where is the respondent?
Is it quiet where they
are?
002 SURVEY MAGAZINE AUGUST 2013
www.SurveyMagazine.org
Written By: Pete Cape
Director, Global Knowledge, SSI
The Modern Respondent
Almost no Brits watch TV and do
surveys at the same time. Only 2%
of those multi-tasking in the
UK said they were
watching TV.
()*+$
Both the US and the UK
multi-task the same when taking
online surveys.
!"#$ &
Is the respondent concentrating
solely on the survey?
003 SURVEY MAGAZINE AUGUST 2013
New research from SSI covering
the S and the K fnds a|most
one |n fve respondents are do|ng
something else at the same time
as taking the survey. There is no
cultural dimension to this. Both Brits
and Americans multitask at the same
rate.
The number one something else is
watching TV. Almost half of multi-
tasking survey takers (46%) are
watching TV. But here comes the
frst cu|tura| d|fference. A|most no
Brits watch TV and do surveys at
the same time. Only 2% of those
multitasking in the UK said they were
watching TV. In the US this rises to a
staggering 56%!
!"#$
One |n fve respondents are do|ng
something else at the same
time as taking the survey.
, ./ 0
01
004 SURVEY MAGAZINE AUGUST 2013
www.SurveyMagazine.org
And the environment? For
the majority (72%) they
would class it as somewhat
quiet through to extremely
quiet. Only a very small
minority (2%) said they were
in a loud environment.
So, even today when we
feel like we are all on the
move a|| the t|me, the typ|-
ca| survey taker |s at home,
quietly doing the survey with
no distraction. Even the
substantial minority who are
multi-tasking should be con-
centrating on the survey
shouldnt they?
The turn-around comes with
the number two activity:
surfng the lnternet. Th|s
comes a distant second with
on|y 13% overa|| do|ng th|s,
but it is much more a UK
thing than an American one.
A quarter of UK multitaskers
are doing this in addition to
the survey, compared to on|y
10% of Americans.
Just less than one in ten are
texting or emailing (both in
the UK and the US) and just
slightly fewer are chatting to
someone in person.
So where are they when
they take their survey? The
vast majority are at home
just under nine out of ten
- most|y at the|r own home,
but also at others. Six per
cent of Americans were
completing the survey while
at work, compared to on|y
1% of the British.
!"#$ &
!"#$
,1'
02
An overall 13% of online survey
multi-taskers are surng the
internet when taking
a survey.
Less than 1 in 10 survey
multi-taskers are texting
or emailing when
taking a survey.
, ./ ,2
!"#$
03
Only a very small minority (2%)
said they were in a loud
environment.
()*+$
The majority of survey
respondents are in loud
environments
04
The Modern Respondent
!"#$%&'()*%+,
(
)
3
!
ln fact a th|rd of mu|t|-taskers, 6% of the ent|re
samp|e, to|d us that the survey actua||y wasn`t the
most important thing they were doing!
&' +)4 !5$
+#"6$4 7+ 89!
:9+! 7:;9"!)8!
005 SURVEY MAGAZINE AUGUST 2013
ln the fna| ana|ys|s, does |t rea||y matter?
Do people who are doing surveys on the
s|de", or do|ng other th|ngs as we|| make
more or fewer mistakes than those who
are paying it their undivided attention?
nsurpr|s|ng|y perhaps, those tak|ng the
survey whilst doing something else of
greater importance were 10 times more
likely to make a simple mistake on a
single-coded question than those paying
full attention.
They were also four times more likely to
make a mistake on numeric data entry
than those giving more attention. But the
absolute numbers of errors are small. In
tota|, |nc|ud|ng those not pay|ng und|v|ded
attent|on, on|y 0.3% of respondents made
an error at the single-coded question.
For the moment we can be reassured that
our respondents are paying good atten-
tion to the surveys and answering dili-
gently and honestly. Any increase in errors
made, assoc|ated w|th mu|t|-task|ng, |s,
for the moment, neg||g|b|e.
<
ln Ihe na/ ana/ys/s, does
it really matter?
05
!"#$
For the moment we can be reassured that
our respondents are paying good
attention to the surveys and
answering diligently
and honestly.
06
Pete Cape
Director, Global Knowledge, SSI
Almost half of multi-
tasking survey takers (46%)
are watching TV. But here
comes ||e /|s| c0||0|a|
difference. Almost no Brits
watch TV and do surveys at
the same time. Only 2% of
those multitasking in the UK
said they were watching TV.
In the US this rises to a
staggering 56%!
!"#$%&'()*%+,
The Modern Respondent
006 SURVEY MAGAZINE AUGUST 2013
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