Chapter 10 Survey Research - Communicating With Respondents

Chapter 10

SURVEY RESEARCH: COMMUNICATING WITH RESPONDENTS

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LEARNING OUTCOMES  After studying this chapter chapter,, you should be able to 1.

Summariz Summa rize e ways ways res resea earc rche hers rs gat gathe herr inform informat ation ion thr throu ough gh interviews

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Compare Compa re the the adv advan anta tage gess and and disad disadv van anta tage gess of con condu duct ctin ing g door-to-door,, mall door-to-door mal l intercept, and telephone interviews

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Eva valua luate te the the adv advan anta tages ges an and d disad disadva vant ntag ages es of dis distri tribu butin ting g questionnaires through the mail, the Internet, and other means

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Discu Dis cuss ss the imp import ortan ance ce of pre prete test stin ing g que quest stio ionn nnair aires es

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Descr Des cribe ibe et ethi hica call issu issues es th that at ari arise se in su surv rvey ey re rese sear arch ch

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Interviews as Interactive Communication •

Interactive Survey Approaches  –

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Those that allow spontaneous two-way interaction between the interviewer and the respondent. Can be either personal or electronic.

Noninteractive Media  –

Those that do not facilitate two-way communication and are largely a vehicle by which respondents give answers to static questions. •

Tradition forms with less flexibility

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Self-administered mail and Internet surveys 10 3

Personal Interviews •

A personal interview is a form of direct communication in which an interviewer asks respondents questions face-to-face.  –

Versatile and flexible

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Truly interactive

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Advantages of Personal Interviews Opportunity for Feedback High Participation

Props and Visual Aids

Personal Interviews

Probing Complex Answers

Length of  Interview

Completeness of  Questionnaire

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Disadvantages of Personal Interviews Lack of  Anonymity of  Respondent

Interviewer  Influence

Personal Interviews

Cost

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Door-to-Door Interviews •

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Personal interviews conducted at respondents’ doorsteps in an effort to increase the participation rate in the survey. Callbacks  –

Attempts to recontact individuals selected for a sample who were not available initially.

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Door-to-Door Interview Characteristics •

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Speed of data collection: moderate to fast Geographical flexibility: limited to moderate Respondent cooperation: excellent Versatility of questioning: quite versatile

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Questionnaire length: long

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Item nonresponse: low

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Possibility of respondent misunderstanding: lowest

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Degree of interviewer influence of answer: high Supervision of interviewers: moderate Anonymity of respondent: low Ease of call back or follow-up: difficult Cost: highest due to travel costs Special features: visual materials may be shown or demonstrated; extended probing possible

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Mall Intercept Personal Interview •

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Personal interviews conducted in a shopping mall. Interviewers typically intercept shoppers at a central point within the shopping center or at the main entrance.

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Mall Intercept Interview Characteristics •

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Speed of data collection: fast

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Geographical flexibility: confined, urban bias

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Respondent cooperation: moderate to low

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Versatility of questioning: extremely versatile Questionnaire length: moderate to long

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Item nonresponse: medium Possibility of respondent misunderstanding: lowest

Degree of interviewer influence of answers: highest Supervision of interviewers: moderate to high Anonymity of respondent: low Ease of call back or follow-up: difficult Cost: Lower than door-to-door Special features: taste tests, viewing of TV commercials possible

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Personal Interviews •

Global Considerations  –

Variations in willingness to participate •

Sensitivity to interview subject matter

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Beliefs about appropriate business conduct

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Telephone Interviews •

Telephone Interviews  –

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Personal interviews conducted by telephone. The mainstay of commercial survey research. “No-call” legislation has limited this capacity.

Mobile Phone Interviews  –

In U.S., no telemarketing can be directed toward mobile phone numbers.

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Recipient of call is even more likely to be distracted.

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Area codes not necessarily tied to geography.

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Phones have varying abilities. 10 12

Phone Interview Characteristics •

Speed

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Cost

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Absence of face-to-face contact

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Cooperation

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Incentives to respond

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Representative samples

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Callbacks

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Limited duration

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Lack of visual medium

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Types of Telephone Interviews •

Central Location Interviewing  –

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Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI)  –

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Conducting interviews from a central location allowing firms to hire a staff of professional interviewers and to supervise and control the quality of interviewing more effectively.

Allows answers to telephone interviews to be entered directly into a computer for processing.

Computerized Voice-Activated Telephone Interview  –

Combining computerized telephone dialing and voice-activated computer messages to allow researchers to conduct telephone interviews without human interviewers.

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Telephone Interview Recap •

Speed of data collection: very fast

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Geographical flexibility: high

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Respondent cooperation: good

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Versatility of questioning: moderate

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Questionnaire length: moderate

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Item nonresponse: medium

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Possibility of respondent misunderstanding: average Degree of interviewer influence of answer: moderate

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Supervision of interviewers: high, especially with central location interviewing Anonymity of respondent: moderate Ease of call back or follow-up: easy Cost: low to moderate Special features: fieldwork and supervision of data collection are simplified; quite adaptable to computer technology

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EXHIBIT 10.1

Self-Administered Questionnaires Can Be Either Printed or Electronic

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Mail Questionnaires •

Characteristics of Mail Questionnaires  –

Geographical flexibility

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Cost

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Respondent convenience

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Anonymity of respondent

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Absence of interviewer

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Standardized questions

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Time is money

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Length of mail questionnaire 10 17

Self-Administered Questionnaires •

Response Rate  –

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The number of questionnaires returned or completed divided by the number of eligible people who were asked to participate in the survey.

Factors that Bias the Response Rate  –

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Persons who will complete questionnaires versus those persons who will not. Person filling out survey is not the intended subject. 10 18

Increasing Response Rates for Mail Surveys

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Cover letter

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Money helps

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Interesting questions

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Follow-ups

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Advance notification

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Survey sponsorship

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Other techniques

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Keying mail questionnaires with codes

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EXHIBIT 10.2

A Cover Letter Requesting Participation in a Survey

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EXHIBIT 10.3

Plots of Actual Response Patterns for Two Commercial Surveys

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Fax Surveys •

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A survey that uses fax machines as a way for respondents to receive and return questionnaires. Advantages  –

Reduce sender’s printing and postage costs

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Is quicker than traditional mail surveys

Disadvantage  –

Only respondents with fax machines who are willing to exert the extra effort will return questionnaires. 10 22

E-Mail Surveys • •

Surveys distributed through electronic mail. Ways to contact respondents:  –  –  –

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Advantages  –  –  –  –  –

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Include a questionnaire in the body of an e-mail. Distribute questionnaire as an attachment. Include a hyperlink within the body of an e-mail. Speed of distribution Lower distribution and processing costs Faster turnaround time More flexibility Less handling of paper questionnaires

Disadvantage  –

Not all e-mail systems have the same capacity

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Internet Surveys •

A self-administered questionnaire posted on a Web site.  –

Respondents provide answers to questions displayed online by highlighting a phrase, clicking an icon, or keying in an answer.

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Internet Survey Characteristics •

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Speed and cost effectiveness Visual appeal and interactivity Respondent participation and cooperation

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Callbacks

Personalized and flexible questioning

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Respondent anonymity

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Response rates

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Security concerns

Representative samples Accurate real-time data capture

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Other Approaches •

Kiosk Surveys  –

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Mixed-Mode Survey Research  –

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Placed in high-traffic locations (e.g., airports).

Employs any combination of survey methods.

Text-Message Surveys  –

May use SMS (short-message service) or MMS (Multi-Media Service).

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Selecting the Appropriate Survey Approach •

Questions to be answered:  –

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Is the assistance of an interviewer necessary? Are respondents interested in the issues being investigated?

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Will cooperation be easily attained?

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How quickly is the information needed?

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Will the study require a long and complex questionnaire? How large is the budget?

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Pretesting Survey Instruments •

Pretesting  –

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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:  –

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Screen the questionnaire with other research professionals. Have the client or the research manager review the finalized questionnaire. Collect data from a small number of respondents.

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Ethical Issues in Survey Research •

Many ethical issues apply to survey research:  –

Respondents’ right to privacy

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Use of deception

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Respondents’ right to be informed

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Need for confidentiality

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Need for honesty in collecting data

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Need for objectivity in reporting data

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