This paper reports on a series of experiments to explore ways to use the technology of Web surveys to help respondents provide well-formed answers to questions that may be difficult to answer. Specifically, we focus on the use of drop-down or select lists and JavaScript lookup tables as alternatives to open text fields for the collection of information on prescription drugs. The first two experiments were conducted among members of opt-in panels in the U.S. The third experiment was conducted in the 2013 Health and Retirement Study Internet Survey. Respondents in each of the studies were randomly assigned to one of three input methods: text field, drop box, or JavaScript lookup, and asked to provide the names of prescription drugs they were taking. We compare both the quality of answers obtained using the three methods, and the effort (time) taken to provide such answers. We examine differences in performance on the three input format types by key respondent demographics and Internet experience. We discuss some of the technical challenges of implementing complex question types and offer some recommendations for the use of such tools in Web surveys.

中文翻译：

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帮助受访者在网络调查中提供良好的答案。

本文报告了一系列实验，以探索使用网络调查技术的方法，以帮助受访者对可能难以回答的问题提供格式正确的答案。具体来说，我们专注于使用下拉列表或选择列表以及JavaScript查找表来替代打开文本字段以收集处方药信息的方法。前两个实验是在美国参与小组成员中进行的。第三个实验是在2013年健康与退休研究互联网调查中进行的。每个研究中的受访者被随机分配到三种输入方法之一：文本字段，保管箱或JavaScript查找，并要求提供他们正在服用的处方药名称。我们比较了使用三种方法获得的答案的质量，以及提供此类答案所花费的精力（时间）。我们根据主要受访者的人口统计特点和Internet经验检查了三种输入格式类型在性能上的差异。我们讨论了实现复杂问题类型的一些技术挑战，并为在Web调查中使用此类工具提供了一些建议。