Internet Pop-up Polls

Internet pop-up polls receive their name from their inherent function. These polls appear on the user's screen in a new browser window, which is triggered by accessing the content of a designated Web page. Like all Internet surveys, these surveys can reduce the time and cost of conducting research by streamlining the data collection process. Utilizing a dynamic programming language such as PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) or PERL, the researcher can create a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) script that either emails the survey responses back to the administrator or automatically drops the entries into a pre-scripted database.

Pop-up polls can improve response rates by creating more attractive and easy-to-use forms. Specifically, they allow participants to view the base Web page while simultaneously taking an associated survey. However, studies have shown that people tend to respond more to relatively plain Internet surveys that load quickly rather than more elaborate surveys that necessitate longer load times.

Some researchers directly code their surveys in HTML (Hypertextual Markup Language). HTML editors often are easier to use and achieve the same effect. Microsoft's FrontPage or Mozilla's SeaMonkey both provide a point-and-click interface that allows researchers to easily develop questionnaires and the necessary CGI scripts. Various online tutorials are available to develop either independent or dependent HTML coding abilities (see Further Readings at the end of this entry). However, in practice, simple trial and error is usually the best training method. This training is especially useful when dealing with the many technical hurdles one encounters with Internet pop-up polls.

If the HTML pop-up poll is viewed as a protagonist, the antagonist would be the pop-up blocker. This is a formidable adversary that prevents most pop-up surveys from being viewed. To achieve this, the popup blocker does one of two things: Either it embeds code into the HTML script preventing additional windows from opening, or it alters the action code, which in HTML is the window. open() command, thus preventing the survey from ever popping up. Developers avoid this problem by either using DHTML or JavaScript to create floating banners that avoid most popup blockers by adding additional layers rather than windows to the base Web page. This reclassification [Page 356]can work in tandem with proper user warnings to ensure that most pop-up surveys are properly viewed. Once this technical obstacle is overcome, one must then address the inherent social obstacles to meaningful Internet survey research.

A major problem with Internet pop-up polls is that Internet users are not representative of the broader population, and heavy Internet users are not representative of lighter Internet users. Thus, coverage bias is a concern with Internet research, in general, and specifically with HTML pop-up polls because they require a certain level of familiarity with the Web interface to successfully interact with the survey instrument. Additionally, the lack of direct oversight means that potential abuse by respondents (e.g. responding multiple times to the same survey) is more likely in a Web-based environment.

Even given these limitations, HTML pop-up polls do have valid and legitimate uses. For example, popup polls can be an effective way to survey traffic to a given Web site. Even though the technology sometimes appears to be overwhelming, it can be harnessed to create unique survey instruments that can achieve ends that are beyond traditional means. The Internet is here to stay and the HTML pop-up poll is a likely bridge between what Internet research was and what it will become.

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