Welcome to my website.

I’m a Research Fellow in the Data and Methods Unit at the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES) at the Universiy of Mannheim.

I’m also a Co-Organizer of the MZES Social Science Data Lab and serve as Committee Member of the European Survey Research Association (ESRA).

I’m interested in topics related to survey methodology and social data science. In my research, I examine the quality of novel methods of data collection, with a focus on mobile web surveys, smartphone apps, wearable sensors, and digital behavioral data.

Education

  • Ph.D. Survey Methodology, 2018

    University of Essex

  • B.A. Politics and Public Administration, 2014

    University of Konstanz

Selected Publications

See CV for complete list of publications

Wenz, A., & Keusch, F. (2022). The second-level smartphone divide: A typology of smartphone use based on frequency of use, skills, and types of activities. Mobile Media & Communication, 1-25.

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Wenz, A., Jäckle, A., Burton, J., & Couper, M. P. (2022). The effects of personalized feedback on participation and reporting in mobile app data collection. Social Science Computer Review, 40(1), 165-178.

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Jäckle, A., Wenz, A., Burton, J., & Couper, M. P. (2022). Increasing participation in a mobile app study: The effects of a sequential mixed-mode design and in-interview invitation. Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology, 10(4), 898-922.

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Keusch, F., Wenz, A., & Conrad, F. G. (2022). Do you have your smartphone with you? Behavioral barriers for measuring everyday activities with smartphone sensors. Computers in Human Behavior, 127, 107054.

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Wenz, A. (2021). Do distractions during web survey completion affect data quality? Findings from a laboratory experiment. Social Science Computer Review, 39(1), 148-161.

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Wenz, A., Al Baghal, T., & Gaia, A. (2021). Language proficiency among respondents: Implications for data quality in a longitudinal face-to-face survey. Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology, 9(1), 73-93.

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Blom, A. G., Wenz, A., Cornesse, C., Rettig, T., Fikel, M., Friedel, S., Möhring, K., Naumann, E., Reifenscheid, M., & Krieger, U. (2021). Barriers to the large-scale adoption of a COVID-19 contact tracing app in Germany: Survey study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(3), e23362.

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Al Baghal, T., Wenz, A., Sloan, L., & Jessop, C. (2021). Linking Twitter and survey data: Asymmetry in quantity and its impact. EPJ Data Science, 10, 1-20.

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Bach, R. L., & Wenz, A. (2020). Studying health-related internet and mobile device use using web logs and smartphone records. PLoS ONE 15(6), e0234663.

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Wenz, A., Jäckle, A., & Couper, M. P. (2019). Willingness to use mobile technologies for data collection in a probability household panel. Survey Research Methods, 13(1), 1-22.

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Projects

Acceptance of Smartphone Technologies for Social Science Data Collection

Funded by the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung, 2023-2025

The rising spread of smartphones in the general population offers empirical social research new opportunities for collecting data about attitudes and behaviours. Smartphones allow administering surveys and, at the same time, collecting detailed behavioural data through the smartphone’s built-in sensors. However, a major challenge of smartphone-based data collection is the low willingness of the population to participate. Selective participation by certain subgroups of the population can lead to biased results.
This project aims to develop and test a theoretical framework of the social acceptance of smartphones as a data collection tool in empirical social research. The aim is to improve the representativeness of smartphone-based studies. The main questions are which social psychological factors explain the willingness to participate and which measures can be used to increase this willingness. The theoretical framework will be developed based on a systematic review of technology acceptance theories as well as qualitative in-depth interviews with smartphone users and tested as part of a smartphone data collection.

Upcoming Talks

Assessing the Quality of Digital Behavioral Data for Measuring Smartphone Use
Mobile Apps and Sensors in Surveys Workshop, Manchester, UK
June 22-23, 2023

How to Increase the Acceptance of Mobile App and Sensor Data Collection?
AAPOR Annual Conference, Philadelphia, USA
May 10-12, 2023

Teaching

University of Mannheim
  • Exemplary Empirical Studies, M.A. Seminar
  • Empirical Research Practicum I, B.A. Seminar
  • Empirical Research Practicum II, B.A. Seminar
  • Thesis Colloquium: Methods of Empirical Social Research, B.A. Seminar
International Program in Survey and Data Science
  • Fundamentals of Survey and Data Science, M.Sc. Seminar
University of Essex
  • Survey Measurement and Question Design, M.Sc. Seminar
  • Introduction to Survey Design and Management, M.Sc. Seminar

Contact

  • a.wenz (at) uni-mannheim.de
  • +49 (621) 181-2019
  • University of Mannheim
    Mannheim Centre for European Social Research
    A5, 6 | Room A 244
    68131 Mannheim, Germany