2. Learning Objectives
• Identify the information required to be
collected through a survey
• Describe and justify the appropriate
respondents for a survey
• Summarise the various communication
techniques, including their strengths
and limitations
• Explain the factors that will influence
the selection of a survey method
• Choose an appropriate survey method
for a given situation
• Outline the issues involved when
planning surveys internationally
4. Survey Design
• Survey: the overall planning, design
and administration process involved in
obtaining data using a questionnaire
• Respondents are asked questions
regarding their behaviour, intentions,
attitudes, awareness, motivations, and
demographics and lifestyle
What is the difference between a
survey and a questionnaire???
5. Nature of surveys
• Survey: a method of collecting primary data in
which information is gathered by
communicating with a representative sample
of people.
• Sample survey: more formal term for a
survey.
• Respondent: person who verbally answers an
interviewer’s questions or provides answers
to written questions.
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6. Survey objectives: type of
information gathered
• Attempt to describe what is happening or to
learn the reasons for a particular marketing
activity.
– Identifying characteristics of target markets
– Measuring consumer attitudes
– Describing consumer purchasing patterns.
• Most often associated with quantitative
findings, but can also be qualitative.
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8. Advantages of Surveys
Group Statistics
Std. Error
Gender N Mean Std. Deviation Mean
How much have you Male
236 1283.4237 3502.02542 227.96244
spent, in total, on
• Standardisation
Internet shopping over Female
the past 12 months? 212 1002.7311 1342.04673 92.17215
• Ease of administration
• Ability to tap the ‘unseen’
• Large sample
• Low cost
• Increases geographic flexibility
• Suitable for tabulations and statistical
analysis
• Generalisability
• Sensitivity to subgroup differences
9. Disadvantages of Surveys
• Difficult developing surveys
• Need to develop constructs, scale
measurements, survey design
• Respondents may be unable/unwilling to
provide the desired information
• Structured and fixed responses
• Difficult to probe
10. Determine the Information
Required
• Begin with clear research objectives,
information needed, hypotheses and
scope of the research
• Use exploratory research to gain insight
and clarification
• Experience with similar studies
• Good questionnaire design
11. From Whom
• Target population will influence several
aspects of survey design including:
– survey communication method
– question content
– administration issues
• Need to consider:
–Who they are?
–Where they are located
geographically?
–Accessibility?
12. How do you determine how many people are
interviewed?
William Burlace, Director, Media Services
Roy Morgan Research
13. Methods of Data Collection
• Personal interviewing
• Telephone interviewing
• Mail surveys
• On-line surveys
• Fax surveys } self-completion
• Combinations of survey methods
14. Personal interviews
• Form of direct communication in which an
interviewer asks respondents questions face–
to–face.
• Versatile and flexible.
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15. The advantages of personal interviews
• Opportunity for feedback
• Probing complex answers
– Interviewer asks the respondent for
clarification of answers.
• Length of interview controlled
• Completeness of questionnaire
– Item non–response is least likely to occur.
• Props and visual aids
• High participation.
15
16. Disadvantages of personal
interviews
• Interviewer influence
– Different interviewer characteristics and
techniques
• Lack of anonymity of respondent
– Respondent may be reluctant to provide
confidential information
• Cost.
16
17. Personal interviews:
Door-to-Door Interviews
• Interview conducted at the respondent’s
home
Advantages
• When personal contact is essential
• Conducive environment to questioning
process
• Ability to explain complicated tasks
• In-depth and detailed interviews can take
place
18. Personal interviews:
Executive Interviews
• Interviewing business people at their
offices
Disadvantages
• Very expensive
• Experienced interviewers required
19. Personal interviews:
Shopping Centre Intercept
Advantages
• Travel costs are eliminated
• Interviewer can interact with respondents
Disadvantages
• Non-representative sample
• Uncomfortable environment for respondents
20. Personal interviews:
Purchase Intercept technique
• Intercept customers while in the shopping
environment
Advantages
• Aids buyer recall
• Interviewer can interact with respondents
Disadvantages
• Access difficulties
• Only purchasers are interviewed
21. Personal interviews:
Computer Assisted
• Computer-assisted personal
interviewing (CAPI)
• Direct entry of research information into a
computerised database
22. Door–to–door interviews and
shopping mall intercepts
• Door–to–door interviews are conducted at
respondents’ doorsteps.
– An effort to increase the participation rate.
– Call–backs are attempts to recontact
individuals selected for a sample who were
not available initially.
• Mall intercept interviews are conduced in a
shopping mall.
– Lower costs but higher refusal rates.
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23. Telephone interviews
• Personal interview conducted by telephone.
• Speedy data collection
• Relatively inexpensive
• Absence of face–to–face contact is more
impersonal.
• Cooperation
• Representative samples
• Lack of visual medium.
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24. Telephone interviews
• Central location: 1300 or 1800 lines to a
central location
• Computer–assisted: answers to telephone
interviews entered directly into a computer.
• Computerised voice–activated: done without
human interviewers.
• Random digit dialling: use of table of random
numbers to contact respondents.
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25. Telephone Interviewing
Strengths
• Relatively inexpensive
• Yields a very high sample
• Quick
Weaknesses
• Inability of respondents to see questions
• Inability to observe respondents
• Limitations on information quality and
quantity
• Sampling problems
• People associate surveys with
telemarketing
26. Telephone Interviewing cont.
Traditional telephone interviews
• Paper and pencil.
Disadvantages
• Difficult to measure quality control
• High potential for errors
• Difficult to determine time spent on
surveys
27. Telephone Interviewing:
Computer Assisted
Computer-assisted telephone
interviewing (CATI)
• Computerised survey administered to
respondents over the telephone
28. Telephone Interviewing:
Computer Assisted cont.
Advantages
• Computer dials phone number
• Computer skips questions Minimises
• Can customise questions research errors
• No editing required
• Analysis can be done at any stage
• Cost savings
• Quality control
• Time savings
29. Telephone Interviewing:
Computer Automated
Computer automated telephone systems
(CATS)
• Computer-synthesised voices are used to
ask questions over the phone
• Respondents select numbers on the
telephone keypad to answer questions
• Voice recognition is likely to be used in the
future to record and count responses
30. Self Administered Surveys:
Direct Mail
• Survey is developed and mailed to pre-
selected respondents who return the
completed surveys by mail
• Mail interview package consists of the
outgoing envelope, cover letter, survey,
return envelope
31. Self Administered Surveys:
Direct Mail cont.
Advantages
• No interviewers to recruit, train,
monitor and compensate
• Inexpensive to implement
• Can reach many people
Disadvantages
• Low response rate
• Self-selection bias
• Slow form of collection
• Possible misunderstanding of skipped
questions
32. Methods Used to Increase Response
Rates
• Preliminary notification
• Foot-in-the-door
• Personalisation
• Anonymity
• Response deadline
• Appeals
• Sponsorship
• Incentives
• Survey length
• survey size, reproduction, and colour
• Type of postage (outgoing)
• Type of postage (return envelopes)
• Follow-ups
33. Self Administered Surveys:
Mail Panels
• Large representative sample of households
that have agreed to participate in periodic
mail surveys, product tests and telephone
survey
34. Self Administered Surveys:
Mail Panels cont.
Advantages
• Panel can be tested prior to the survey to
obtain a representative sample
• Produces a higher response compared with
direct mail
• Allows for longitudinal research
Disadvantage
• May not be a representative sample
35. Example: Roy Morgan Single
Source
• Roy Morgan research company surveys
over 50, 000 Australians each year on a
range of topics which forms their Single
Source Data
– Lifestyle and attitudes
– Media consumption habits
– Brand and product usage
– Purchase intentions
– Service provider preferences
– Financial information
– Recreation and leisure activities
Source: www.roymorgan.com
36. Explain the methodological rigor behind the single
source monitor?
William Burlace, Director, Media Services
Roy Morgan Research
37. Response rate
• The number of questionnaires returned or
completed divided by the number of eligible
people who were asked to participate in the
survey.
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38. Increasing response rates for mail
surveys
• Stamped return envelope
• Attractive questionnaires
• Cover letter
• Monetary incentives or premiums
• Interesting questions
• Follow–ups
• Advance notification
• Survey sponsorship — auspices bias.
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39. Self–administered questionnaires that
use other forms of distribution
• In–flight and in–store
• Drop–off method
• Email surveys
• Internet surveys
– Speed and cost–effectiveness
– Visual appeal and interactivity
– Respondent participation and cooperation
– Representative samples
– Accurate real–time data capture
– Personalised and flexible questioning.
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40. Self Administered Surveys:
Drop-off Survey
• A representative of the researcher hand-
delivers survey forms to respondents; the
completed surveys are returned by mail or
picked up by the representative
41. Self Administered Surveys:
Drop-off Surveys cont.
Advantages
• Availability of a person who can answer
general questions
• Screen potential respondents
• Spur respondents in completing the survey
Disadvantages
• Fairly expensive in comparison to direct mail
surveys
42. Computer Assisted Surveys: Fax
Advantages
• Flexibility of mail
• Speed of the telephone
• Administration and clerical functions can also
be reduced
• Fax implies urgency
Disadvantages
• Fax technology may not be used
• Cost to respondents could reduce response
rates
• Technical problems
• Lack of privacy may cause response problems
• May lack clarity of image of a printed mail
survey
43. Computer Assisted Surveys:
E-Mail
• A survey using plain text which is e-mailed
for the respondent to read, complete and
return
Advantages
• Fast
• Inexpensive
44. Computer Assisted Surveys:
On-line
• Use HTML to write the survey.
• Survey can be found on the web or emailed
to a potential respondent
Advantages
• Prepared with speed and accuracy of
electronics
Disadvantages
• Possible non-response bias
• Respondents must seek the survey
• May not be a representative sample
45. How have you changed the way you administer surveys at Colmar
Brunton?
Peter Kenny, Managing Director
Colmar Brunton
46. Preparing your own
on-line survey
• A number of companies allow you to
design your own survey
– www.surveymonkey.com
– www.zoomerang.com
• Some research companies have their
own panel whom they send surveys to if
they meet the criteria specified by the
researcher.
– www.researchnow.com.au
–
http://au.acnielsen.com/industry/online.sh
– www.theoru.com.au
48. Combining Methods
• Several alternatives are available
• Allows researcher to capitalise on
strengths and minimise limitations of
methods involved
• Overall goal is to improved response
rates
49. Factors Affecting
Choice of Survey Method
• Sampling
• Type of population
• Question form
• Question content
• Response rates
• Costs
• Available staff
• Time
50. Length of Questionnaire
• Influenced by:
– information required
– characteristics of respondents
– communication method
Example: Shopping centre intercepts
are typically 5 minutes or less so
pointless drafting lengthy survey
52. Random sampling error
• A statistical fluctuation that occurs because of
change variation in the elements selected for
the sample.
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53. Systematic error
• Systematic error results from some imperfect
aspect of the research design or from a
mistake in the execution of the research.
• Sample bias exists when the results of a
sample show a persistent tendency to deviate
in one direction from the true value of the
population parameter.
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54. Respondent error
• A classification of sample bias resulting from
some respondent action or inaction.
– Non–response error
– Response bias.
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55. Non–response error
• Non–response error: the statistical
differences between a survey that includes
only those who responded and a perfect
survey that would also include those who
failed to respond.
• Non–respondent: a person who is not
contacted or who refuses to cooperate in the
research.
• No contact: a person who is not at home.
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56. Non–response error
• Refusal: a person who is unwilling to
participate in a research project.
• Self–selection bias: a bias that occurs
because people who feel strongly about a
subject are more likely to respond to survey
questions than people who feel indifferent
about it.
– Over–represent extreme positions
– Under–represent indifference.
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57. Response bias
• A bias that occurs when respondents tend to
answer questions with a certain slant that
consciously or unconsciously misrepresents
the truth.
• Deliberate falsification: occasionally people
deliberately give false answers.
• Unconscious misrepresentation: response bias
arising from question format or content, even
when respondent is trying to be truthful.
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58. Types of response bias
• Acquiescence bias results because some
individuals tend to agree with all questions or
to concur with a particular position.
• Extremity bias results because response
styles vary from person to person; some
individuals tend to use extremes when
responding to questions.
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59. Types of response bias
• Interviewer bias occurs because the
presence of the interviewer influences
answers.
• Auspices bias is caused by the respondents
being influenced by the organisation
conducting the study.
• Social desirability bias is caused by
respondents’ desire, either conscious or
unconscious, to gain prestige or appear in a
different social role.
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60. Administrative error
• Data processing error: incorrect data entry,
computer programming, or other
procedural errors during the analysis
stage.
• Sample selection error: improper sample
design or sampling procedure execution.
• Interviewer error: field mistakes
• Interviewer cheating: filling in fake answers
or falsifying interviewers.
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61. Classifying survey research
methods
• Surveys may be classified based on the
method of communication, the degrees of
structure and disguise in the questionnaire,
and the time frame in which the data are
gathered.
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62. Structure and disguised questions
• A structured question imposes a limit on the
number of allowable responses.
• An unstructured question does not restrict the
respondents’ answers.
• An undisguised question is straightforward and
assumes the respondent is willing to answer.
• A disguised question assumes the purpose of the
study must be hidden from the respondent.
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63. Temporal classification
• Cross–sectional study: various segments of a
population are sampled and data are
collected at a single moment in time.
• Longitudinal study: respondents are surveyed
at different times, thus allowing analysis of
continuity and changes over time.
– Tracking study uses successive samples to
compare trends and identify changes.
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64. Temporal classification
• Consumer panel is a longitudinal study of the
same sample of individuals or households to
record their attitudes, behaviour, or
purchasing habits over time.
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65. Mail questionnaires
• Self–administered questionnaire sent to
respondents through the mail.
• Geographic flexibility
• Relatively inexpensive
• More convenient for respondents
• Anonymity of respondent
• Absence of interviewer
• Highly standardised questions
• Time consuming.
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66. Selecting the appropriate survey
research design
• There is no best form of survey; each has
advantages and disadvantages.
– For example, a researcher who must ask
highly confidential questions may use a
mail survey, thus sacrificing speed of data
collection to avoid interviewer bias.
• Table 5.2 is a summary of the major
advantages and disadvantages of typical
survey methods.
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68. Pre–testing
• Pre–testing involves a trial run with a group of
respondents to iron out fundamental
problems in the instructions or design of a
questionnaire.
• Avoids problems of having respondents
misunderstand a particular question, skip a
series of questions or misinterpret
instructions.
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Editor's Notes
An alternative Drop off surveys A representative of the researcher hand-delivers survey forms to respondents; the completed surveys are returned by mail or picked up by the representative Advantages Availability of a person who can answer general questions screen potential respondents, and spur interest in completing the questionnaire May increase the response rate Disadvantages Fairly expensive in comparison to direct mail surveys
Advantages Fast Inexpensive Disadvantages Lack of privacy Some respondents may not use this form of technology
