What causes the difference in mean structures between online and
paper-and-pencil administrations?: Examination using the Self-report
Depression Scale
Abstract
Due to the many advantages of online surveys, many researchers are
taking advantage of this survey method. Although for many psychological
instruments, previous studies have shown that online and
paper-and-pencil administration formats have equivalent results, other
studies have shown that some online surveys result in different score
distributions from those observed through paper-and-pencil
administration. In this study, we conducted surveys using Zung’s
self-report depression scale (SDS) to Japanese undergraduates both
online and through paper-and-pencil and examined whether there are
differences between different administration formats only in the scale’s
mean structures and, if so, why the difference occurs. Analysis results
showed that there was the difference only in mean structures. Results
also implied that the online administration format lowers item
thresholds; this decrease would cause the difference between the two
formats’ mean structures. Finally, we think about the future directions
of this research; to examine whether similar results would be seen in
other scales, other countries, and other generations.