This dissertation addresses the imbalance between technological advancements and human adaptation to technology in the context of survey research by raising the question of whether survey research is behind or too far ahead of their respondents. Hence, the four papers that constitute this dissertation deal with respondents' ability to use technology and how respondents' technological abilities are associated with nonresponse and measurement issues in computer-assisted surveys.
Although the adaptation to technology increases, the findings indicate that sub-groups of respondents are reluctant to participate in an online survey resulting in nonresponse bias. In addition, the measurement of long-list questions can be improved by alternative interface designs.
By tackling the imbalance between technological advancements and human adaptation to technology in survey research, this dissertation demonstrates that survey practitioners still have to be cautious when adapting survey designs to technological advancements because these technological advancements might be too far ahead of their respondents
