Estimating the benefits to Florida households from avoiding another Gulf oil spill using the contingent valuation method: Internal validity tests with probability‐based and opt‐in samples

Abstract

This paper evaluates contingent valuation method data quality by examining differences in results between probability-based and opt-in internet samples using data from a survey estimating passive use losses associated with the BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Both samples pass the internal validity tests of negative price (bid) coefficient and positive sign on income but only the probability-based sample passed the scope test and shows evidence of use values. We find that the willingness to pay estimates from the opt-in sample may be over-estimated compared to the probability-based A previous version of this paper was presented at the 2019 Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.

Comparing water quality valuation across probability and non‐probability samples

“…Additionally, the inclusion of socio‐demographic information did not change the significance level for any cost or water quality parameter. Importantly, income did not have a significant effect on voting for MTurk, contrary to expectations for some forms of validity (Whitehead et al, 2021). See appendix for estimation results.…”

“…Some find that preference estimates differ between samples (Bonnichsen & Olsen, 2016; Boyle et al, 2016), while others found that they produce similar preference estimates (Grandjean et al 2009; Olsen, 2009; Penn et al, 2023). One recent study (Whitehead et al, 2021) investigates the internal validity of a probability and a non‐probability sample for a CV survey by testing sensitivity to cost, sensitivity to scope, and by comparing income elasticities of WTP. They find that the probability sample generally exhibits greater internal validity.…”

Arachnids: between fear and financial support for environmental education projects

“…Umbrella species are commonly cited among mammals and birds due to their greater perception of their environmental importance, charisma, and beauty (WITTEMYER et al, 2013;GALLEGOS-FERNANDEZ et al, 2023). However, despite being less frequently mentioned as possible umbrella species, arachnids (Arachnida) have significant potential for ensuring complex ecological interactions with other species (BALLESTEROS et al, 2022).…”

Battling bots: Experiences and strategies to mitigate fraudulent responses in online surveys

“…Similarly, many researchers have taken advantage of conducting online surveys by purchasing responses through various marketing panels or platforms, for example, Qualtrics, Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk), or Google Surveys. However, online surveys more acutely face issues affecting data quality, such as inattention or carelessness of participants (Cheng et al, 2022; Gao et al, 2016; Malone & Lusk, 2018a), nonrepresentative samples (Penn et al, 2023; Sandstrom et al, 2023; Whitehead et al, 2023) and fraudulent responses (Belliveau & Yakovenko, 2022; Chmielewski & Kucker, 2020; Griffin et al, 2021; Kramer et al, 2014; Rommel et al, 2022; Storozuk et al, 2020; Teitcher et al, 2015).…”