Usability of Quick Response (QR) Code as a Method to Access a Survey Using a Smartphone

Logging into a survey can be burdensome, particularly when using the small keyboard in a smartphone to type in the survey's webpage. In this study, we explored the usability (effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction) of Quick Response (QR) codes as a method to access an online survey through a smartphone. Twenty respondents (average age: 29.9 years) were presented with instructions to scan a QR code to access a survey in their smartphone. All respondents successfully scanned the QR code without any usability issues, in an average time-on-task of 12.4 seconds and rated the process as "extremely easy." One limitation of this study is that we were unable to find respondents without previous QR code experience. This, however, may provide evidence for the prevalence of QR codes in everyday activities, and may be good news for survey methodologists looking for a way to reduce respondent burden when accessing a survey through a smartphone.