Do (Not!) track me: Relationship between willingness to participate and sample composition in online information behavior tracking research Articles uri icon

authors

  • GIL LOPEZ, TERESA
  • Christner, Clara
  • de León, Ernesto
  • Makhortykh, Mykola
  • Urman, Aleksandra
  • Maier, Michaela
  • Adam, Silke

publication date

  • February 2023

start page

  • 2274

end page

  • 2292

issue

  • 6

volume

  • 41

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0894-4393

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1552-8286

abstract

  • This paper offers a critical look at the promises and drawbacks of a popular, novel
    data collection technique - online tracking - from the point of view of sample
    composition. Using data from two large-scale studies about political attitudes and
    information consumption behavior carried out in Germany and Switzerland, we find
    that the likelihood of participation in a tracking study at several critical dropout
    points is systematically related to the gender, age, and education of participants,
    with men, young, and more educated participants being less likely to drop out of the
    studies. Our findings also show that these patterns are incremental, as changes in
    sample composition accumulate over successive study stages. Political interest and
    ideology were also significantly related to the likelihood of participation in tracking
    research. The study explores some of the most common concerns associated with
    tracking research leading to non-participation, finding that they also differ across
    demographic groups. The implications of these findings are discussed.

subjects

  • Information Science

keywords

  • methodology; political communication; survey research; online tracking; research participation