1 Data Collection “The trick is to make your mistakes on a small scale” -William Feather

2 Sources Primary data Secondary data

3 I. Planning the study  Purpose  Scope  Time span

4 II. Modes of Primary data Collection 1.Telephone survey 2.Mail questionnaire 3.Personal interview and observation

5 Questionnaire 1.Structured 2.Unstructured

6 a)Number of questions should be few. b)Questions should be short, clear, simple and unambiguous. c)Logical sequence should be followed. d)Questions of sensitive nature should be avoided. e)Mail questionnaire should be accompanied by covering letter.

7 Specimen Questionnaire 1.General information Name Age GenderM______F______ Number of members in the family 1-2_____ 3-4_____ Over 5____

8 Monthly income ___Less than Rs.30,000 ___ Rs.30,000-Rs.40,000 ___ Rs.40,000-Rs.50,000 ___ Rs.50,000 or more 2. What type of car do you own? ___American ___Japanese ___European ___Any other

9 3.What size car do you own? ____Luxury ____Mid size ____Compact 4.Did you buy this car new or used? ____New ____Used

10 5.If you bought a used car, did you buy it from a dealer or a private party? ___Dealer ___Private party 6.How long have you owned this car? ____Number of years 7.Price paid for the car_______

11 8. Who influenced your decision to purchase the above car? __Yourself __Your wife __Your children __Your friend __Your colleague __Your neighbors __Others

12 9.If you purchased the car from a dealer then how did you come to know about the dealer? __Television __Newspapers __Personal references __Others

13 10.Rank the following factors that affected the final decision at the time of purchasing the car (1 for most important, 2 for next and so on) __discounts offered __interest rate of financing __reputation of car manufacturer __Guarantees & warranties offered __Others

14 11.In order of preference what where the reasons for buying a used car? __inadequate funds __cheaper insurance __lack of parking garage __any other

Which of the following media you think is most effective in creating an impact on the potential customer relative to a particular brand of car? __TV __magazines __newspapers __word of mouth __favorable news reports __others

16 III. Sample selection 1.Probability sampling i. Random sampling ii. Stratified sampling iii. Systematic sampling iv. Cluster sampling

17 2. Non-probability sampling i. Judgment sampling ii. Convenience sampling iii. Quota sampling iv. Snow-ball sampling

18 Testing the data 1. Where did the data come from? Is the source biased? 2. Do the data support or contradict other evidence we have? 3. How many observations we have? 4. Is the conclusion logical? Have we made conclusions that data don’t support?