Topic 9: Research Design: Primary data: Surveys

Question 1

What are the general conditions needed for a survey to be successful?

Answer 1

• Respondents must have the information being targeted by the questions
• Respondents must understand their role as providers of accurate information
• Respondents must have adequate motivation to participate

Question 2

What are the 4 communication approaches?

Answer 2

• Personal interviews
• Telephonic interviews
• Self-administered surveys (either in public location or online)
• email surveys

Question 3

Describe the personal interview survey type

Answer 3

• Characteristics: face-2-face communication
• Directed and controlled by the interviewer
• Advantages: Greater depth of information/detail can be secured
• Interviewer can probe for detail and clarify misinterpretations of questions
• Interviewer can consider physical surroundings and adjust tone/body language appropriately
• Disadvantages: costly and takes a lot of time

Question 4

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the telephonic interview survey type?

Answer 4

• Advantages: Cheaper cost of fieldwork compared to f2f interviews
• Respondents aren’t influenced by interviewer’s physical presence or body language
• Quicker than f2f interviews
• Disadvantages: non-functioning telephone numbers
• interview length limitations
• limitation on use of visual aids since not in-person
• easy for respondents to terminate interview
• respondent’s environment might be distracting

Question 5

What are the advantages and disadvantages of self-administered surveys?

Answer 5

Survey done without interveiwer present. (Mail surveys)
* Advanages: Cheaper than f2f and quicker than f2f and telephonic interviews
* Easier access to otherwise inaccessible respondents (eg: CEOs)
* More perceived anonymity than telephonic or f2f interviews
* rapid data collection
* Disadvantages: Low response rates & presence of non-response error (favours extreme positions)
* No interviewer means no room for probing or question meaning clarification
* Cannot be too complex, risks non-response

Question 6

Advantages and disadvantages of web-based surveys?

Answer 6

• Advantages: Quick and cheap
• Easier to access otherwise inaccessible respondents (eg: CEOs)
• More perceived anonymity
• Easier/cheaper to use graphics, visuals and colours than mail based surveys
• Disadvantages: Low response rates and presence of non-response error
• interviewer cannot probe for more detail or clarify unclear questions
• accurate email addresses needed
• survey cannot be too long or complex (risk of non-response increasing)