Business Research Methods William G. Zikmund

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Business Research MethodsWilliam G. Zikmund

• Chapter 10
• Survey Research Basic Communication Methods

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Communicating with Respondents

• Personal interviews
• Door-to-door
• Shopping mall intercepts
• Telephone interviews
• Self-administered questionnaires
• Mail
• Fax
• E-Mail
• Internet

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Door-to-Door Personal Interview

• Speed of data collection
• Moderate to fast
• Geographical flexibility
• Limited to moderate
• Respondent cooperation
• Excellent
• Versatility of questioning
• Quite versatile

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Door-to-Door Personal Interview

• Questionnaire length
• Long
• Item nonresponse
• Low
• Possibility of respondent misunderstanding
• Lowest

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Door-to-Door Personal Interview

• Degree of interviewer influence of answer
• High
• Supervision of interviewers
• Moderate
• Anonymity of respondent
• Low

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Door-to-Door Personal Interview

• Ease of call back or follow-up
• Difficult
• Cost
• Highest
• Special features
• Visual materials may be shown or demonstrated
  extended probing possible

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Mall Intercept Personal Interview

• Speed of Data Collection
• Fast
• Geographical Flexibility
• Confined, urban bias
• Respondent Cooperation
• Moderate to low
• Versatility of Questioning
• Extremely versatile

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Mall Intercept Personal Interview

• Questionnaire length
• Moderate to long
• Item nonresponse
• Medium
• Possibility of respondent misunderstanding
• Lowest

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Mall Intercept Personal Interview

• Degree of interviewer influence of answers
• Highest
• Supervision of interviewers
• Moderate to high
• Anonymity of respondent
• Low

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Mall Intercept Personal Interview

• Ease of call back or follow-up
• Difficult
• Cost
• Moderate to high
• Special features
• Taste test, viewing of TV commercials possible

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Telephone Surveys

• Speed of Data Collection
• Very fast
• Geographical Flexibility
• High
• Respondent Cooperation
• Good
• Versatility of Questioning
• Moderate

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Telephone Surveys

• Questionnaire Length
• Moderate (Rule of Thumb 10 Minutes)
• Item Nonresponse
• Medium
• Possibility of Respondent Misunderstanding
• Average
• Degree of Interviewer Influence of Answer
• Moderate

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Telephone Surveys

• Supervision of interviewers
• High, especially with central location WATS
  interviewing
• Anonymity of respondent
• Moderate
• Ease of call back or follow-up
• Easy

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Telephone Surveys

• Cost
• Low to moderate
• Special features
• Fieldwork and supervision of data collection are
  simplified quite adaptable to computer technology

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Telephone Surveys

• Central location interviewing
• Computer-assisted telephone interviewing
• Computerized voice-activated interviews

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Self-Administered Questionnaires
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Mail Surveys

• Speed of data collection
• Researcher has no control over return of
  questionnaire slow
• Geographical flexibility
• High
• Respondent cooperation
• Moderate--poorly designed
• questionnaire will have low response rate
• Response Rate Surveys Completed / ( Surveys
  Sent Undeliverables)

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Mail Surveys

• Versatility of questioning
• Highly standardized format
• Questionnaire length
• Varies depending on incentive
• (Rule of Thumb No More Than 6 Pages)
• Item nonresponse
• High

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Mail Surveys

• Possibility of respondent misunderstanding
• Highest--no interviewer present for clarification
• Degree of interviewer influence of answer
• None--interviewer absent
• Supervision of interviewers
• Not applicable

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Mail Surveys

• Anonymity of respondent
• High
• Ease of call back or follow-up
• Easy, but takes time
• Cost
• Lowest

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How to Increase Response Rates for Mail Surveys

• Write a sales oriented cover letter (See
  Exhibit 10.2)
• Money helps
• - As a token of appreciation
• - For a charity
• Stimulate respondents interest with
  interesting questions
• Follow Up
• - Keying questionnaires with codes
• Advanced notification
• Sponsorship by a well-known and prestigious
  institution

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E-Mail Questionnaire Surveys

• Speed of data collection
• Instantaneous
• Geographic flexibility
• worldwide
• Cheaper distribution and processing costs

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E-Mail Questionnaire Surveys

• Flexible, but
• Extensive differences in the capabilities of
  respondents computers and e-mail software limit
  the types of questions and the layout
• E-mails are not secure and eavesdropping can
  possibly occur
• Respondent cooperation
• Varies depending if e-mail is seen as spam

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Internet Surveys

• A self-administered questionnaire posted on a Web
  site.
• Respondents provide answers to questions
  displayed online by highlighting a phrase,
  clicking an icon, or keying in an answer.

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Internet Surveys

• Speed of data collection
• Instantaneous
• Cost effective
• Geographic flexibility
• worldwide
• Visual and interactive

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Internet Surveys

• Respondent cooperation
• Varies depending on web site
• Varies depending on type of sample
• When user does not opt-in or expect a voluntary
  survey cooperation is low.
• Self-selection problems in web site visitation
  surveys - participants tend to be more deeply
  involved than the average person.

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Internet Surveys

• Versatility of questioning
• Extremely versatile
• Questionnaire length
• Individualized base on respondent answers
• Longer questionnaires with panel samples
• Item nonresponse
• Software can assure none

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Internet Surveys

• Representative samples
• The quality of internet samples may vary
  substantially.
• A sample of those who visit a web page and
  voluntarily fill out a questionnaires can have
  self-selection error.

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Internet Surveys

• 1) not all individuals in the general public have
  internet access
• 2) many respondents lack powerful computers with
  high-speed connections to the internet
• 3) many respondents computer skills will be
  relatively unsophisticated.

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Internet Surveys

• Possibility for respondent misunderstanding
• High
• Interviewer influence of answers
• None
• Supervision of interviewers not required

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Internet Surveys

• Anonymity of Respondent
• Respondent can be anonymous or known
• Ease of Callback or Follow-up
• difficult unless e-mail address is known
• Special Features
• allows graphics and streaming media

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Welcome Screen

• Welcome Screen like a cover letter
• It contains the name of the research company and
  how to contact the organization if there is a
  problem or concern.
• "If you have any concerns or questions about this
  survey, or if you experience any technical
  difficulties, please contact (NAME OF RESEARCH
  ORGANIZATION).

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Welcome Screen should ask for password and give
instructions

• Please enter your personal password from your
  invitation.Then, press the "enter" key to begin
  the survey or simply click on the right arrow at
  the bottom of the page to begin the survey (after
  you have read the remaining instructions)
• During the survey, please do not use your
  browser's FORWARD and BACK buttons.
• Use the arrows on the lower right to move
  backward and forward through the survey.

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There is no best form of survey each has
advantages and disadvantages.
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Selected Questions to Determine the Appropriate
Technique

• Is the assistance of an interviewer necessary?
• Are respondents interested in the issues being
  investigated?
• Will cooperation be easily attained?

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Selected Questions to Determine the Appropriate
Technique

• How quickly is the information needed?
• Will the study require a long and complex
  questionnaire?
• How large is the budget?

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Pretesting

• A trial run with a group of respondents to iron
  out fundamental problems in the instructions of
  survey design