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Statistical surveys are used to collect quantitative information about items in a population. Surveys of human populations and institutions are common in political polling and government, health, social science and marketing research. A survey may focus on opinions or factual information depending on its purpose, and many surveys involve administering questions to individuals. When the questions are administered by a researcher, the survey is called a structured interview or a researcher-administered survey. When the questions are administered by the respondent, the survey is referred to as a questionnaire or a self-administered survey.
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Structure and standardization
The questions are usually structured and standardized. The structure is intended to reduce bias (see questionnaire construction). For example, questions should be ordered in such a way that a question does not influence the response to subsequent questions. Surveys are standardized to ensure reliability, generalizability, and validity (see quantitative marketing research). Every respondent should be presented with the same questions and in the same order as other respondents.
In organizational development, carefully constructed survey instruments are often used as the basis for data gathering, organizational diagnosis, and subsequent action planning. Some OD practitioners (e.g. Fred Nickols) even consider survey guided development as the sine qua non of OD.
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Serial surveys
Serial surveys are those which repeat the same questions at different points in time, producing time-series data. They typically fall into two types:
Cross-sectional surveys which draw a new sample each time. In a sense any one-off survey will also be cross-sectional.
Longitudinal surveys where the sample from the initial survey is recontacted at a later date to be asked the same questions.
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Advantages of surveys
The advantages of survey techniques include:
It is an efficient way of collecting information from a large number of respondents. Very large samples are possible. Statistical techniques can be used to determine validity, reliability, and statistical significance.
Surveys are flexible in the sense that a wide range of information can be collected. They can be used to study attitudes, values, beliefs, and past behaviours.
Because they are standardized, they are relatively free from several types of errors.
They are relatively easy to administer.
There is an economy in data collection due to the focus provided by standardized questions. Only questions of interest to the researcher are asked, recorded, codified, and analyzed. Time and money is not spent on tangential questions.
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Disadvantages of surveys
Disadvantages of survey techniques include:
They depend on subjects’ motivation, honesty, memory, and ability to respond. Subjects may not be aware of their reasons for any given action. They may have forgotten their reasons. They may not be motivated to give accurate answers, in fact, they may be motivated to give answers that present themselves in a favorable light.
Structured surveys, particularly those with closed ended questions, may have low validity when researching affective variables.
Although the chosen survey individuals are often a random sample, errors due to nonresponse may exist. That is, people who choose to respond on the survey may be different from those who do not respond, thus biasing the estimates.
Survey question answer-choices could lead to vague data sets because at times they are relative only to a personal abstract notion concerning "strength of choice". For instance the choice "moderately agree" may mean different things to different subjects, and to anyone interpreting the data for correlation. Even yes or no answers are problematic because subjects may for instance put "no" if the choice "only once" is not available.
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Advantages of self-administered questionnaires
Advantages of self-administered questionnaires include:
They are less expensive than interviews.
They do not require a large staff of skilled interviewers.
They can be administered in large numbers all at one place and time.
Anonymity and privacy encourage more candid and honest responses.
Lack of interviewer bias.
Speed of administration and analysis.
Suitable for computer based research methods.
Less pressure on respondents
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Disadvantages of self-administered surveys
Respondents are more likely to stop participating mid-way through the survey (drop-offs)
Respondents cannot ask for clarification
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Advantages of researcher administered interviews
Advantages of researcher administered interviews include:
Fewer misunderstood questions and inappropriate responses.
Fewer incomplete responses.
Greater control over the environment that the survey is administered in.
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Survey methods
There are several ways of administering a survey, including:
response rate typically 25% - 50%, depending on audience and topic
fairly cost efficient, depending on local call charge structure
cannot be used for non-audio information (graphics, demonstrations, taste/smell samples)
traditional telephone interviews
computer assisted telephone dialing
computer assisted telephone interviewing
the questionnaire may be handed to the respondents or mailed to them, but in all cases they are returned to the researcher via mail.
cost is very low, since bulk postage is cheap in most countries
long time delays, often several months, before the surveys are returned and statistical analysis can begin
not suitable for very complex issues
no interviewer bias introduced
large amount of information can be obtained: some mail surveys are as long as 50 pages
response rates can be improved by using mail panels
members of the panel have agreed to participate
panels can be used in longitudinal designs where the same respondents are surveyed several times
web is preferred over e-mail because interactive HTML forms can be used
response rates sometimes 90% before 2000, but have been dropping fast since then (now 2% - 30%)
often inexpensive to administer
response rates can be improved by using panels - members of the panel have agreed to participate
if not password-protected, easy to manipulate by completing multiple times to skew results
respondents are interviewed in person, in their homes (or at the front door)
suitable when graphic representations, smells, or demonstrations are involved
suitable for long surveys
suitable for locations where telephone or mail are not developed
Personal mall intercept survey
shoppers at malls are intercepted - they are either interviewed on the spot, taken to a room and interviewed, or taken to a room and given a self-administered questionnaire
socially acceptable - people feel that a mall is a more appropriate place to do research than their home
potential for interviewer bias
easy to manipulate by completing multiple times to skew results
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Methods used to increase response rates
brevity - single page if possible
commodity giveaways (pens, notepads)
entry into a lottery, draw or contest
promise of contribution to charity
foot-in-the-door techniques - start with a small inconsequential request
personalization of the request - address specific individuals
follow-up requests - multiple requests
claimed affiliation with universities, research institutions, or charities
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Doctoral and Masters Degrees
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Masters Degrees only
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See also
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Lists of related topics
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