PLANNING AND CONDUCTING SURVEYS

Sunday, February 5, 2023 12:05 AM

A survey is a quantitative data collection technique that includes asking

questions from participants.
Steps in conducting surveys

1. Respond to the participants

• Design a good research question.
• Select participants based on the research question.
• Population = the entire group of people
• Sample = specific group of people
2. Determine the type of survey
• Questionnaire
the correct options are to be selected

• Interview
An in-depth conversation between interviewer and interviewee, with the
purpose of extracting opinions among other information

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 3. Design the questions

• Align specific questions to the pre-determined research question.

• Determine the type, content, ordering, and phrasing of questions.

Types of questions
• Open-ended
– options are not provided and respondents can give detailed
- verbal answers
• Close-ended
– predetermined options from which respondents have to select

Interview Questions based on Types of Interview

• Unstructured Interviews
- Questions may vary
- Experiences and stories

• Structured Interviews
- Same questions
- Quantified, measured and repeated

4. Distribute the survey

Steps in conducting a questionnaire survey

1. Determine participants
2. Identify platforms and distribution method

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 2. Identify platforms and distribution method
3. Develop questions
4. Distribute the survey
5. Analyze data

Steps in conducting an interview survey

1. Recruit participants
2. Establish recording method
3. Develop questions
4. Interview participants
5. Conduct further research

5. Analyze the responses

Data collected may be processed using computer software

Example of data analysis software

• MS Excel
• SPSS
• Minitab
• Strata
• Design Expert

Data analysis in research mainly includes removing incomplete or unreliable data

with the motive of extracting useful information

Thematic analysis technique, wherein all responses are labelled then categorized

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