Using vignettes to examine preferences for paying for long-term social care in online and interview surveys

A novel approach using ‘vignettes’ to elicit public attitudes towards paying for long-term social care for older people was administered in two surveys: 1) for people aged 18-75, a web survey using an online volunteer panel; and 2) for older people aged 65+, a face-to-face interview was included within a national random location omnibus survey. Given the different sampling approaches and modes of data collection, we examined whether our key results differed between the two surveys by comparing responses for the 65-75 age group that was included in both. While responses to the vignettes were significantly different in the two surveys, after adjusting for differences in socio-demographic characteristics, the vignette results were comparable. The variations in response between the surveys thus appear to be due to differences in sample profile rather than to measurement differences due to survey mode.