Marketing Research: Course 3 Quantitative Research Why and when Various approaches Costs Validity © Jacques Nantel et HEC Montréal Hiver 2005

Survey Methods - main characteristics Survey methods involve a structured questionnaire given to respondents and designed to elicit specific information. Respondents are asked a variety of questions regarding their behaviour, intentions, attitudes, awareness, motivations, demographic, lifestyle characteristics. Typically, it is about administrating a questionnaire that is structured: the questions’ order is prearranged. The most of the questions are fixed-alternative: require the respondent to choose from a set of predetermined answers.

Survey Methods vs Survey Methods Advantages: The questionnaire is simple to administer; Fixed response questions reduces the variability in the results that may be caused by differences in interviewers; Coding, analyzing and interpreting is simpler. Disadvantages: Reliability of information provided is more difficult to be checked; “Sensitive” questions cause sometimes unwillingness from the respondents; Hidden motivations are difficult to be sought; Other alternatives than the stated ones can’t be mentioned.

Survey Methods – here they are.. Telephone Interviewing Personal Interviewing Mail Interviewing Electronic Interviewing Traditional Computer assisted In Home Mall intercept Computer assisted Mail Mail panel E-mail Internet

Survey Methods – comparative evaluation

So, before we start let’s become aware that.. First of all, a good questionnaire uplift, motivate and encourage the respondent to become involved in the interview, in an earnest manner; A good questionnaire allows the researcher to understand as much as he decides it is necessary from the territory beyond the map; A good questionnaire is just a pattern to be filled, not a tool to influence; The collection manner matters; And finally, the questionnaire is not all that matters! We manage an entire data collection package that might also include (1) field work procedures, (2) reward, gift or payment, (3) communication aids.. Let’s begin!

Building a questionnaire

Question development Use their vocabulary!! Ex: Are you a heavy user of vegetal grease? Be brief! Ex: When was the last time that you went to the doctor for a physical examination on your own or because you had to? Be focused! (2: on defining a single issue) Ex: What do you think about his ability of working with people and the knowledge he has? avoid leading and/or loaded questions! Ex: Do you think that church should have an important issue in policy because she is the most credible institution amongst the people? avoid overemphasis! Ex: Would you favor increasing taxes to cope with the current fiscal crisis? Take care of the implicit assumptions! Ex: Are you in favor of a salary rising in our company? Take care of the implicit alternatives! Ex: Do you like to fly when traveling short distances? avoid estimates! Ex: What is the annual per capita expenditure on groceries in your household? avoid “aggressing” memory! Ex: What TV shows have you watched in the last ten days?

Reliability and Validity The last two points refer to the concepts of measurement reliability and validity

Validity & Reliability Reliability – the extent to which a scale produces consistent results if repeated measurements are made on the characteristic. Test-retest; Equivalent forms reliability; Split – half reliability. Validity – the extent to which differences in observed scale scores reflects true differences among objects on the characteristic being measured, rather than systematic or random errors. Convergent; Predictive; Content.

Pretest Pre-testing = a trial run of a questionnaire using a small ample (30-50 respondents) from the target population A pretest help: evaluate and fine tune the questionnaire; Estimate the time required for completion of an interview; Check the problems with ambiguous questions or unanticipated responses; Allow for set-up of coding refinements for tabulations ………………………………………………………………… Based on the pretest the questionnaire could be revised.

Scaling - Preliminaries Scale characteristics: description – the “label” of the scale that identify what is being measured, e.g. gender, age etc. order – refer to the relative size of the descriptor. An ordered scale has descriptors that are “greater than”, “less than” or “equal to” one another; distance – a scale has the characteristic of distance when absolute differences between descriptors can be measured; origin – a scale has an origin when there is an unique beginning, or true zero point for the scale.

Scale Types

Scaling Techniques SCALING TECHNIQUES Comparative Scales Noncomparative Scales Constant Sum Rank Order Paired Comparison Itemized Rating Scales Continuous Rating Scales Semantic Differential Likert