11 Online Survey Challenges in 2024

Companies conduct online research to understand their customers better, and customers who have internet access can participate in surveys conducted online. However, gathering online data is more difficult than it appears. According to one study, the average response rates for online surveys in the US, the UK, and the Netherlands are 46%, 36%, and 33%, respectively.

To help business leaders and researchers improve their survey response rates, in this article we review the top 11 challenges of conducting online surveys and propose solutions to overcome them.

Top 11 online survey challenges

The most common online survey challenges are divided into three categories: 

• Participant-related
• Survey structure-related
• Surveyor-related

Participant-related challenges

1- Response bias

Participants may not finish the survey or answer all questions honestly, which could influence the validity of the results.

2- Low response rates

Encouraging respondents to complete the survey might be challenging, which results in a low response rate and an unrepresentative sample.

3- Sampling error

Online surveys rely on self-selection, which can result in sampling bias if particular groups of people are either overrepresented or underrepresented in the sample.

4- Data quality 

Some participants may intentionally give wrong answers in answering online surveys, which makes them susceptible to participant data entry mistakes and deliberate data fraud.

5- Non-response

In online surveys, non-response can be a serious problem as respondents might abandon the survey before it is finished or in the middle of it.

Survey structure-related challenges

6- Lack of personal interaction

Online surveys prevent direct communication between the surveyor and the respondent, which may restrict the surveyor’s capacity to ask follow-up questions or delve further into the participant’s responses.

7- Limited question types

Online surveys frequently include multiple choice or Likert scale questions, which may not be appropriate for obtaining complicated or nuanced replies.

8- Technical issues

Participants may be unable to complete the survey due to technical issues like website crashes or slow loading times.

Surveyor-related challenges

9- Security

Online surveys could be susceptible to hacking or other security breaches, jeopardizing the data’s accuracy and confidentiality.

10- Data privacy

Sensitive personal data may be gathered through web surveys, and this data must be safeguarded in compliance with data privacy laws.

11- Survey design and implementation

The survey’s design and implementation must be properly thought out to reduce the likelihood of response bias and increase sample representativeness.

These challenges highlight the importance of carefully planning and executing web-based surveys to achieve reliable and valid results.

Solutions for improving online survey research

1- Partner with crowdsourcing agencies

You can transfer the burden of the challenges to a third-party service provider. Crowdsourcing agencies handle the challenges of web surveys by

• providing participants with incentives
• improving the user experience
• enhancing the survey design
• using multiple channels to reach participants (e.g., social media, in-app notifications)
• providing secure data collection and storage
• maintaining compliance with data privacy
• offering participants technical assistance

These strategies help to minimize response bias, increase response rates, and ensure accurate and representative survey results.

For those interested, here is our benchmarking study on survey participant recruitment services.

2- Implement qualitative survey research techniques

Source: HubSpot

Figure 1. Types of qualitative research methods

Incorporating qualitative survey research techniques into online surveys can boost their quality by improving survey design, increasing data accuracy, and allowing for a more nuanced interpretation of the results. This results in a more accurate and representative picture of the population under investigation.

3- Use big data and AI technologies

Big data and AI technologies can greatly improve online surveys for corporations by:

• analyzing large amounts of data
• overcoming sample size limitations
• improving data quality
• improving and automating data analysis.
  

These technologies can aid in producing more accurate and representative results, lowering the risk of sampling error and response bias while also informing business decisions for growth.

Check out our data-driven list of market research tools if interested.

Here is also our data-driven vendor list of survey participant recruitment services and survey tools.

Please contact us if you have any additional questions about online surveys: