Photos requests in surveys: Comparing in-the-moment and conventional approaches

Recent technological advancements have introduced innovative approaches to survey data collection, including replacing traditional questions with visual data and intercepting respondents in real time based on their geolocation. This study evaluates the effectiveness of combining these methods. During the summer of 2024, members from the Netquest geolocated panel in Spain were invited to take part in an “in-the-moment” survey 1 hour after GPS data detected their visit to mainland beaches. Around 450 panellists completed the survey either while still on-site or shortly afterward (post-visit). Participants were asked to upload photos of the beach and sunscreen used. Separately, a similarly sized sample of beach visitors during the same period completed a conventional (retrospective) survey, providing equivalent information. Levels of participation, as well as the quantity and quality of information, were compared across on-site, post-visit, and conventional participants. On-site participants exhibited the highest levels of participation, particularly for uploading beach photos, likely due to the immediate availability of relevant images. However, overall participation remained low, especially for sunscreen photos, where on-site participants notably experienced comprehension issues with the instructions. The quantity and quality of information were similar across groups, but metadata discrepancies (e.g., mismatched photo capture dates) were significantly lower among on-site and post-visit participants, highlighting the benefits of closer temporal proximity to the event. Notably, many participants across all groups shared identifiable personal information (e.g., faces of individuals), despite being instructed to avoid doing so, emphasising the need for researchers to ensure proper handling of such data. Contextual factors, such as survey timing and design, had a greater impact on participation and data quality than demographic or behavioural traits. These findings underscore the potential of in-the-moment surveys for collecting accurate, event-specific visual data, while emphasising the need for user-friendly interfaces and robust privacy safeguards.