Jolene Smyth, PhD, is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She teaches graduate level courses on Questionnaire Design. She is a co-author of the fourth edition (2014) of Internet, Phone, Mail, and Mixed-Mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method (with Don A. Dillman and Leah Melani Christian). She has also published a number of journal articles and book chapters on such topics as the effectiveness of web surveys, multiple-answer questions, open-ended questions, scalar questions, visual design, Internet surveys, context effects in web surveys, mode preference, within-household selection in self-administered surveys, survey sponsorship, and mixed-mode surveys.
Jolene Smyth’s research focuses on improving data collection processes through the reduction of measurement and nonresponse error. Her current research examines how questionnaire design impacts interviewer/respondent interactions and responses in telephone surveys, how various questionnaire design features (e.g., question wording, visual emphasis, response scales, etc.) impact responses in both interviewer and self-administered surveys, and mobile web survey design. From 2011-2020, she was the Director of the Bureau of Sociological Research, which is a survey data collection shop at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.