COM317 800

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- Quick
- Inexpensive
- Efficient
- Generally accurate
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- Describe (Description)
- Learn why? (Explanation)

 Method of Communication
- Personal Interview
- Self-administered survey
- Telephone
- Mail
- Internet
 Temporal Dimension (Time)
- Longitudinal studies (over time)
- Cross-sectional studies (a point in time)
 Types of Question
- Structured versus unstructured
- Disguised versus undisguised

 Characteristics
- Direct communication
- Questions asked face-to-face
 Types of Personal Interview
- Door-to-door a. Response high if appointments used b. May exclude large groups of people c. Requires “call back”
- Mall intercepts a. High refusal rate b. Can demo products
 Advantages
- Opportunity for feedback
- Ability to probe for details
- Interview can be long
- High probability of complete interview
- Can use props, visual aids
- Higher overall response rate
 Disadvantages
- Interviewer influence
- No Anonymity of respondent
- Costs

 Respondent takes the responsibility for reading and answering the questions.
 Types
- Mail
- Package inserts
“Pick-up” surveys
- Internet
 Key Issues
- Mail : non-response
- Others : self-selection

 Advantages  Disadvantages
- Speed
- Low cost relative to personal
- More likely to divulge personal info than in personal interview
- Easier to obtain access and cooperation
- Absence of face-to-face
- Refusal rates may be high
- Interview must be short
- Lack of visuals

 Advantages
- Geographic reach and flexibility
- Relatively low cost
- Convenient for the respondent
- Anonymity can be achieved
- More likely to obtain sensitive information
- Survey can be longer than phone survey
 Disadvantages
- Subject to different interpretations by respondents
- Questions should be structured
- Low response rate
- Data collection is slow
- Item non-response is high

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 Advantages
Least expensive
Faster turnarounds possible
Quick feedback from customers and/or employees
Surveys can be interactive
Elimination of researchers
More Internet survey software packages available
Internet surveys better than website feedback forms
Good response rate (e.g., telephone survey response rate has dropped to 30% or less)
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 Disadvantages
Not sure who is really responding
Sampling issues a. May not be representative of the population b. No guarantee that demographics are accurate c. Bad e-mail addresses d. Multiple e-mail addresses from the same person e. Inaccessibility of the poor and elderly g. Self-selection bias f. Not considered a mainstream research methodology

Cost per response
Speed of return
No. of interviews completed
Design constraints
Risk of interviewer bias
Survey control
Anonymity of response
Mail
Low
Low
Low
Medium
Low
Medium
High
Telephone Person-toperson
Medium High
High
High
Medium
High
High
Medium
High
Medium
Low
Medium
High
Low
Internet
Low
High
Medium
High
Medium
High
Low

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- Collection of data at different points in time
- Types a. Trend b. Cohort c. Panel
- Collects data at a single point in time
- Often examines different
“sections” of the population

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- Structured questions have a limited and known set of choices
- Unstructured questions are open-ended
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- Disguised questions uses techniques to obtain information without directly asking the question under study.
- Disguised questions used for sensitive studies.

 Check Points
- Does the questionnaire provide the necessary decision making information?
- Are the measures reliable and valid?
- Does the questionnaire consider the respondent?
 Avoiding Common
Problems
- Avoid complexity
- Avoid leading and loaded questions
- Be as specific as possible
- Avoid double-barreled questions
- Avoid making assumptions
- Avoid burdensome questions

 Step 1 : Determine Survey Objectives, Resources, and
Constraints
- Survey objectives: The decision-making information sought through the questionnaire.
 Step 2 : Determine Data Collection Method(s)
- Personal Interview
- Self-administered survey
- Telephone
- Mail
- Internet

Step 3: Determine Question Response Format
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Open-ended questions: Questions that ask respondents to reply in their own words.]
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Closed-ended questions: Questions that ask respondents to choose from a list of answers.
a. Dichotomous questions: Questions that ask respondents to choose between two answers.
b. Multiple-choice questions: Questions that ask respondents to choose among a list of more than two answers.
c. Scale-response questions: Multiple-choice questions with the choices designed to capture the intensity of the respondents’ answers.

 Four general guidelines are useful to bear in mind during the wording and sequencing of each question.
- The wording must be clear.
- Select words so as to avoid biasing the respondent.
- Consider the ability of the respondent to answer the question.
- Consider the willingness of the respondent to answer the question

 Shoulds
- Question should be focused on a single issue or topic
 Should-Nots
- Should not assume criteria that are not obvious
- Question should be brief
- Should not be beyond the respondent’s ability or experience
- Question should be interpreted the same by all respondents
- Should not use a specific example to represent a general case
- Question should use respondent’s core vocabulary
- Question should be as grammatically simple as possible
- Should not ask the respondent to recall specifics when only generalities will be remembered
- Should not require respondent to guess a generalization

 Questionnaire Design
- Layout a. Use white space b. Attractive and easy to follow
 Questionnaire Order
- Screens
- Warm-Ups
- Transitions
- Order of question a. Sensitive questions at the end b. Ask general questions before specific questions c. Be aware of order bias
- Complicated and Difficult to
Answer Questions
- Classification and
Demographic Questions

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Is the question necessary?
Is the questionnaire too long?
Will the questions provide the desired information to accomplish the research objectives?
Appearances of mail and self-Administered questionnaires
Avoid a cluttered look
Allow plenty of space for open-ended responses
Consider color-coding the questionnaires
Instructions printed within the questionnaire should be distinguishable from questions

 Step7 : Obtain Approval from All Relevant Parties
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Step 8 : Pretest and
Revise
- Pretest: Trial run of a questionnaire.
Step 9 : Prepare Final
Copy
Pre-testing
- Trying it out on a small sample, then making changes
- critical to having an easily understood questionnaire
► Translation
- Best to use back translation
- English-foreign language-
English

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Supervisor’s instructions : Written directions to the field service on how to conduct the survey.
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Interviewer’s instructions
: Written directions to the interviewer on how to conduct the interview.
 Call record sheets : Interviewers’ logs listing the number and results of a contact.
 Field management companies : Firms that provide support services such as questionnaire formatting, screener writing, and data collection to full-service research companies.

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Sampling Method
Budget
Type of questioning a. Need for stimuli b. Structure
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Length of questionnaire
Incidence rate
Time

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 Systematic errors-(Respondent or administrative error)
- Result from some problem with the design or execution of the research.
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“Mistakes”
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Random sampling errors
- Chance variations in the elements selected for the sample which make the results nonrepresentative
Types of Respondent error
- Non-response error
- Response bias
• Non-response errors
- Differences between the answers obtained from those who responded as compared to the answers which would have been obtained if everyone in the sample responded.
- Includes refusals and not-at-homes
- Often those that respond have
- stronger feelings than those who do not.
 Reducing Non-Response Error
- Call-backs and follow-ups
- Pre-set appointments or call ahead
- Incentives
- Cover letters
- Prestigious sponsorship

 When respondents answer untruthfully, deliberately or not
 Types of Response Bias
- Acquiescence bias - a tendency to agree with all or most questions.
- Extremity bias - a tendency to answer on the extremes
- Interviewer bias - the presence of the interviewer influences responses
- Auspices bias - the sponsoring agency influences the responses
- Social desirability bias a tendency to give a “socially correct” answer

 Errors that result from improper administration and execution of the research
 Types of administrative errors
- Data processing errors (Coding and entry)
- Sample selection error a. Error in sample design which results in non-representative sample
- Interviewer error
- Interviewer cheating