Usability of the ACS Internet Instrument on Mobile Devices - ARCHIVED

The American Community Survey (ACS) added an Internet data collection mode as part of a sequential mode design in 2013. The ACS currently uses a single web application for all Internet respondents, regardless of whether they respond on a personal computer or on a mobile device. As market penetration of mobile devices increases, however, more survey respondents are using tablets and smartphones to take surveys that are designed for personal computers. Using mobile devices to complete these surveys may be more difficult for respondents and this difficulty may translate to reduced data quality if respondents become frustrated or cannot navigate around usability issues. This study uses several indicators to compare data quality across computers, tablets, and smartphones and also compares the demographic characteristics of respondents that use each type of device.