Business Research Methods

Survey Research
Survey Research

 Sample Survey
 A survey that emphasizes contacting respondents
who are a sample of the target population.

 S
Survey research
h can address
dd iissues:
 Identifying characteristics of target markets
 Measuring consumer attitudes/ employees
satisfaction
i f i
 Identifying information regarding activities that could
make the company more “green”

 Surveys can be both quantitative and qualitative.

Effective Survey – Properties

 Clarity – goal and objective of the survey should be

clearly defined

 Completability – survey questions must be easy to

understand and follow

 Processability – data must be clean and valid for

processing

 Timeliness – time gap between planning and

implementation should be short for effective decision
making
Key Issues in Survey Research
 Random Sampling Error
 Random sampling error is the difference between the sample
result and the result of a census conducted using identical
procedures.
 Sampling units, even if properly selected according to
sampling theory, may not perfectly represent the population
(but generally they are reliable estimates).
 Decreases with increase in sample size.

 Systematic Error
 Error resulting from some imperfect aspect of the research
d i that
design h causes respondent
d error or ffrom a mistake
i k iin the
h
execution of the research.
Categories of Survey Errors

Source: Zikmund et al.2016

Respondent Error Hi, you have been
randomly selected
(Non-Response Error) to participate in a
survey on……

I do not want
to participate.

No
problem, it
is ok.
Th k
Thanks…..
Respondent Error Helmet of what
colour you
(Response Bias) normally wear at
work?

Green (he is
actually
wearing yellow
helmet)

Next
question…..
Respondent Error
 Non-respondents
 People who are not contacted or who refuse to cooperate
in the research.
 No contacts: people who are not at home or who are
otherwise inaccessible on the first and second contact.
 Refusals: People who are unwilling to participate in a
research project.

 Self Selection Bias

Self-Selection
 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.
it
Response Bias
 Deliberate Falsification
 Occasionally people deliberately give false answers
(but why?).
 Misrepresent answers to appear intelligent
 Conceal personal information
 Avoid embarrassment
 Get rid of interviewer or to please interviewer

 Average-person hypothesis:
 Individuals mayy p
prefer to be viewed as average,
g ,
so they alter their responses to conform more
closely to their perception of the average
person.
Response Bias

 U
Unconscious
i Mi
Misrepresentation
t ti
 When a respondent is consciously trying to be
truthful and cooperative, response bias can arise
from the question format, the question content, or
some other stimulus that affects their response to a
question.

 Sources of misrepresentation: (what they could

b ?)
be?)
 Misunderstanding the question
 Unable to recall details
 Unprepared response to an unexpected question
 Inability to translate feelings into words
Types of Response Bias

 Acquiescence Bias
 A tendencyy to agree
g with all or most q
questions.

 Extremity Bias
 The tendency
Th d off some IIndividuals
di id l to use extremes when
h
responding to questions.

 Interviewer Bias
 The presence of the interviewer influences respondents’
answers.
 Types of Response Bias
 Social Desirabilityy Bias
Bias in responses caused by respondents’ desire, either conscious or
unconscious, to gain prestige or appear in a different social role.

Many people smoke

in this town. Do
you also?

Oh never.(has
never (has
a cigarette
pack in his
back pocket)
Administrative Error
 An error caused by the improper administration or
execution of the research task.

 Data-processing error: incorrect data entry,

incorrect computer programming, or other
procedural errors during data analysis.

 Sample selection error: improper sample design or

sampling
li procedure
d execution.
ti

 Interviewer
te v ewe e error:
o : mistakes
sta es made
ade by interviewers
te v ewe s
failing to record survey responses correctly.

 IInterviewer
t i cheating:
h ti filli in
filling i fake
f k answers or
falsifying questionnaires by an interviewer.
Classifying Survey Research Methods

 Structured/Unstructured Questionnaires
 Structured question: imposes a limit on the
number of allowable responses.
responses
 Unstructured question: does not restrict
respondents’
p answers.

 Disguised/Undisguised Questionnaires
 Undisguised questions: assume the respondent
is willing to answer.
 Disguised questions: assume the purpose of
the study is hidden from the respondent.

 Based on time
Interactive Approaches: Door to Door
Interviews
 Personal interviews conducted at respondents’
doorsteps in an effort to increase the participation
rate in the survey.
survey

 Characteristics:
• D
Degree off iinterviewer
t i
• Speed of data collection:
influence of answer: high
moderate to fast
• Geographical flexibility: limited • Anonymity of respondent:
to moderate low
• Respondent cooperation: • Ease of call back or follow-
excellent up: moderate
• Questionnaire length: long • C
Cost:
t high
highestt d
due tto ttravell
• Item non-response: low costs
• Possibility of respondent • Special features: visual
misunderstanding: lowest materials may be shown or
demonstrated; extended
probing possible
Telephone Interviews
 Telephone Interviews
 Personal interviews conducted by telephone.
 The mainstay of commercial survey research.
 “No-call” legislation has limited this capacity.

 Ch
Characteristics:
t i ti
• Speed of data collection: very • Anonymity of respondent:
fast moderate
• Geographical flexibility: high • Ease of call back or follow-up:
• Respondent cooperation: good easy
• Questionnaire length: moderate • Cost: low to moderate
• Item non-response: medium • Special features: fieldwork and
supervision of data collection are
• Possibility of respondent
simplified; quite adaptable to
misunderstanding: average
computer technology
• Degree of interviewer influence
of answer: moderate
Self-Administered Approaches Can Use Either Printed
or Electronic Medium

Source: Zikmund et al.2016

Self-Administered Questionnaires

 Response rate

 Factors that bias the Response Rate

 Persons who will complete
p q
questionnaires vs. those
who will not.
(problem of self-selection)
 Person filling
P filli out survey iis not the
h iintended
d d
subject.
Mail Surveys: Characteristics

 Geographic flexibility – high

 Cost – relatively inexpensive
 Respondent convenience – high
 Anonymity – medium to high
 Control – minimum
 Standardization – high
 Time – long
 Length
g of questionnaire
q – extreme short to moderate
Increasing Response Rates for Mail Surveys

 Cover letter
 Moneyy helps
p
 Follow-ups
 Advance notification
 Survey sponsorship
 Other techniques
 Promotion
E-Mail Surveys
 Surveys distributed through electronic mail.

 Advantages
 Speed of distribution
 Lower distribution and processing costs
 Faster turnaround time
 More flexibility
 Less handling of paper questionnaires

 Disadvantages
 Limited interaction
 Device with e-mail facility needed
 Respondent
p knowledge
g
Internet Survey Characteristics

 Speed
p and cost  Callbacks
effectiveness  Personalized and flexible
 Visual appeal and questioning
interactivity  Respondent anonymity
 Respondent participation  Response rates
and cooperation
 S
Security
it concerns
 Representative samples
 Accurate real-time data
capture
Selecting the Appropriate Survey Approach

 Questions to be answered:
 Is the assistance of an interviewer necessary?
 Are respondents interested in the issues being
investigated?
 Will cooperation be easily attained?
 How quickly is the information needed?
 Will the study require a long and complex
questionnaire?
 How large is the budget?
Pretesting Survey Instruments

 Pretesting
 Screening procedure that involves a trial run with a
group of respondents to iron out fundamental
problems in the survey design.

 Basic Ways to Pretest:

 Screen the questionnaire with other research
professionals.
 Have the client or the research manager
g review
the finalized questionnaire.
 Collect data from a small number of respondents.
Th k you
Thank