An evaluation of alternative methods for online survey recruitment: the equivalency of data collected through amazon mechanical turk and second life to traditional undergraduate student samples

Authors

Elizabeth M. Briones, University of Texas-Pan American

Date of Award

5-2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Experimental Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. Grant Benham

Second Advisor

Dr. Darrin Rogers

Third Advisor

Dr. Mark Winkel

Abstract

A major proportion of psychological research uses subjects from undergraduate populations. Increasingly, researchers are exploiting the Internet to reach beyond the traditional undergraduate sample. The current study sought to compare data obtained from a conventional undergraduate student sample to data collected via two online survey recruitment platforms: Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) crowdsourcing site and the virtual environment of Second Life (SL). Data obtained via these online recruitment platforms was statistically equivalent to the data obtained from the college sample, based on standardized measures of psychological stress and sleep quality. Additionally, correlations between the sleep and stress measures were not statistically different between the groups. These results, along with practical considerations in the use of these platforms, are discussed.

Comments

Copyright 2014 Elizabeth M. Briones. All Rights Reserved.

https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/evaluation-alternative-methods-online-survey/docview/1560676438/se-2

Granting Institution

University of Texas-Pan American