Layout Optimization for Online Questionnaires on Mobile Devices

Participants increasingly use mobile devices, especially smartphones, to fill out online questionnaires. However, standard questionnaire templates are often not optimized for presentation on smartphones, raising the question of whether an unfavorable layout may influence the survey results. In this study, interaction with questionnaires on different devices was investigated regarding processing time, data quality, and user experience of the questionnaire itself. Several standard and newly developed questionnaire layout templates were evaluated by means of an online study (N=301). Results show that processing times are higher on smartphones compared to desktop computers. However, there were no differences regarding data quality. The comparison of different mobile layouts among smartphone users revealed effects on processing time and user experience. Design recommendations are derived.