1. Business Research Methods
Survey Research:

2. Survey Research
Survey research methods are used for primary data collection
Surveys ask a respondent for information using verbal or written questioning
Surveys provide valuable information on peoples’ opinions , perceptions ,attitudes,& other personal characteristics on issues related to research problems
Surveys cannot measure behaviour

3. Survey Research Surveys can be classified on the basis of
---- Methods of communications
---- Timeframe for data collections

4. Survey Research: Basic Communication Methods

5. Communicating with Respondents
Personal interviews
Door-to-door
Shopping mall intercepts
Telephone interviews
Self-administered questionnaires

6. Door-to-Door Personal Interview
It is a traditional survey method which involves consumers being interviewed at their homes
It has direct face to face contact with the interviewee

7. Mall Intercept Personal Interview
It involves stopping or intercepting shoppers in a mall at random
Asking their willingness to participate
Conducting the interviews right on the spot or in the research agency’s interviewing facility located at the mall

8. Telephone Surveys
It has come of age as one of the best cost effective alternatives on account of various developments in telephonic interviews
Random digit dialing as a sampling procedure
----Central location telephone interviews (CLTI)
----Computer assisted telephone interviews (CATI)
----Completely automated telephone surveys (CATS)

9. Central location telephone interviewing (CLTI)
Interviewers make calls from a centrally located marketing research facility
Wide Area Telecommunication Service (WATS) lines are used
Facilitates unlimited long distance calls at fixed rates
Supervisors can monitor &control the whole process 9

10. Computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI)
Telephonic interview responses can be directly entered into the computer
The telephonic interviewer is seated at a computer terminal
Closed ended questions appear on the computer screen one at a time
Interviewer reads out the question & enters the response of the interview into the computer
CATI technology has useful features like random selection of tel.nos, dialing them, data entry & its speedy tabulation 10

11. Completely automated telephone surveys( CATS)
Computer uses recorded voice of a professional interviewer to ask questions
Respondents answer by pressing number button on their telephone sets to mark their choice
Options selected are recorded by the computer
If respondent does not answer first couple of questions computer dials next respondent
Produces quality data at good speed &less cost 11

12. Self Administered questionnaires
Questionnaire filled out by respondents without intervention of interviewer
Mostly conducted at locations with captive audiences: theatres, airports ,malls, hotels or sent through posts (mail surveys) or through s/Nets
Brief questionnaires are given to respondents & collected back either through drop box or return of mail 12

13. Self-Administered Questionnaires

14. Kiosks Kiosks are multimedia touch screen computers
Have ability to display full colour screen images, play stereo sound clips & show videos
Computers are pre-programmed to administer complex surveys
Successfully tried at trade shows & now also at retail stores
Does not involve interviewer & less expensive 14

15. There is no best form of survey; each has advantages and disadvantages.

16. Selected Questions to Determine the Appropriate Technique
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?

17. Pretesting
A trial run with a group of respondents to iron out fundamental problems in the instructions of survey design

18. Survey Research: Time Frame For Data Collection18

19. Time Frame For Data Collection
For some research projects data can be gathered in a single survey
Some other studies require multiple surveys & extend over a longer period of time
Based on time period surveys are classified as
---- Cross sectional studies
-----Longitudinal studies 19

20. Cross sectional Studies
Most commonly used in BR
One shot research study at a given point in time
Consists of a sample (Cross section) of population of interest
It is simple & flexible in nature
Analysis can be simple or complex
To study profile of bank customers 20

21. Longitudinal Studies
Research studies that use multiple surveys to gather data over a period of time
Help in measuring current situations as also their variations over time
Different types of longitudinal studies are
---- Trend Studies
----Panel Surveys
----Cohert Panels 21

22. Trend Studies
A series of cross sectional surveys conducted at two or more points in time
New sample taken each time is from the same segment of population originally surveyed
Consistent questions are asked in each study
Data from several cross sectional studies are compared to find trend in characteristics of interest
Changes in customer satisfaction levels over a period of time 22

23. Panel Studies
A longitudinal survey that involves collecting data from same sample units across time
(Individuals, HHs, Retail stores)
Panel is a sample of respondents who have agreed to provide information at specified intervals over an extended period
Consumer panel to study consumption of products/brands, viewer ship of TV, readership of magazines .
Retail panel (audit) to study products/brands stocked, shelf space allotted, sales, promotions etc 23

24. Cohort Panels
A longitudinal survey that takes process of generation replacement explicitly into account
One or more generations are followed over their life course
Cohort is a group of respondents who experience the same event within the same time interval
A birth (or age) cohort is a group of people who were born during the same time interval, say, 1951 to 1960.
Cohort analysis is a study in which there are measures of some characteristics of two or more cohorts at two or more points in time 24

25. Cohort Panels
It is unlikely that any of the individual studied at time one will also be in the sample at time two
Age cohort of people between 8-19 years old was selected & their soft drink consumption was examined every 10 years for 30 years
In other words every 10 years a different sample of respondents is drawn from population of those who then were between 8-19 years old
Similar findings were obtained for other age cohorts 25

26. Consumption of Various Soft Drinks by Various Age Cohorts
Percentage consuming on a typical day
Age
1950
1960
1969
1979
8-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50+
52.9
45.2
33.9
23.2
18.1
62.6
60.7
46.6
40.8
28.8 C1
73.2
76.0
67.7
58.6
50.0 C2
81.0
75.8
74.4
68.8
59.9 C3 C8 C7 C6 C5 C4
C1: cohort born prior to 1900
C2: cohort born
C3: cohort born
C4: cohort born
C5: cohort born
C6: cohort born
C7: cohort born
C8: cohort born

27. Cohort Panels
Consumption of cohort did not decrease as the cohort aged (Diagonal readings)
Contradiction to common belief that consumption of soft drink would decline with graying of America
A single cross sectional study (each column read in isolation) leads to this erroneous conclusion
Cohort of voters ( people with similar voting pattern during a given interval) are questioned about their voting preference to predict election results 27

28. DETAILS GIVING
ADVANTAGES &
DISADVANTAGES
OF EACH METHOD

29. Door-to-Door Personal Interview
It is a traditional survey method which involves consumers being interviewed at their homes
It has direct face to face contact with the interviewee

30. Door-to-Door Personal Interview
Speed of data collection
Moderate to fast
Geographical flexibility
Limited to moderate
Respondent cooperation
Excellent
Versatility of questioning
Quite versatile

31. Door-to-Door Personal Interview
Questionnaire length
Long
Item nonresponse
Low
Possibility of respondent misunderstanding
Lowest

32. Door-to-Door Personal Interview
Degree of interviewer influence of answer
High
Supervision of interviewers
Moderate
Anonymity of respondent
Low

33. Door-to-Door Personal Interview
Ease of call back or follow-up
Difficult
Cost
Highest
Special features
Visual materials may be shown or demonstrated; extended probing possible

34. Mall Intercept Personal Interview
It involves stopping or intercepting shoppers in a mall at random
Asking their willingness to participate
Conducting the interviews right on the spot or in the research agency’s interviewing facility located at the mall

35. Mall Intercept Personal Interview
Speed of data collection
Fast
Geographical flexibility
Confined, urban bias
Respondent cooperation
Moderate to low
Versatility of questioning
Extremely versatile

36. Mall Intercept Personal Interview
Speed of Data Collection
Fast
Geographical Flexibility
Confined, urban bias
Respondent Cooperation
Moderate to low
Versatility of Questioning
Extremely versatile

37. Mall Intercept Personal Interview
Questionnaire length
Moderate to long
Item nonresponse
Medium
Possibility of respondent misunderstanding
Lowest

38. Mall Intercept Personal Interview
Degree of interviewer influence of answers
Highest
Supervision of interviewers
Moderate to high
Anonymity of respondent
Low

39. Mall Intercept Personal Interview
Ease of call back or follow-up
Difficult
Cost
Moderate to high
Special features
Taste test, viewing of TV commercials possible

40. Telephone Surveys
It has come of age as one of the best cost effective alternatives on account of various developments in telephonic interviews
Random digit dialing as a sampling procedure
-----Central location telephone interviews
-----Computer assisted telephone interviews
-----Completely automated telephone surveys

41. Telephone Surveys Speed of Data Collection Geographical Flexibility
Very fast
Geographical Flexibility
High
Respondent Cooperation
Good
Versatility of Questioning
Moderate

42. Telephone Surveys Questionnaire Length Item Non response
Moderate
Item Non response
Medium
Possibility of Respondent Misunderstanding
Average
Degree of Interviewer Influence of Answer

43. Telephone Surveys Supervision of interviewers Anonymity of respondent
High, especially with central location WATS interviewing
Anonymity of respondent
Moderate
Ease of call back or follow-up
Easy

44. Telephone Surveys Cost Special features Low to moderate
Fieldwork and supervision of data collection are simplified; quite adaptable to computer technology

45. Central location telephone interviewing (CLTI)
Interviewers make calls from a centrally located marketing research facility
Wide Area Telecommunication Service (WATS) lines are used
Facilitates unlimited long distance calls at fixed rates
Supervisors can monitor &control the whole process

46. Computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI)
Telephonic interview responses can be directly entered into the computer
The telephonic interviewer is seated at a computer terminal
Closed ended questions appear on the computer screen one at a time
Interviewer reads out the question & enters the response of the interview into the computer
CATI technology has useful features like random selection of tel.nos, dialing them, data entry & its speedy tabulation

47. Completely automated telephone surveys( CATS)
Computer uses recorded voice of a professional interviewer to ask questions
Respondents answer by pressing number button on their telephone sets to mark their choice
Options selected are recorded by the computer
If respondent does not answer first couple of questions computer dials next respondent
Produces quality data at good speed &less cost

48. Self Administered questionnaires
Questionnaire filled out by respondents without intervention of interviewer
Mostly conducted at locations with captive audiences: theatres, airports ,malls, hotels or sent through posts (mail surveys) or through s
Brief questionnaires are given to respondents & collected back either through drop box or return of mail

49. Self-Administered Questionnaires

50. Kiosks Kiosks are multimedia touch screen computers
Have ability to display full colour screen images, play stereo sound clips & show videos
Computers are pre-programmed to administer complex surveys
Successfully tried at trade shows & now also at retail stores
Does not involve interviewer & less expensive 50

51. Mail Surveys

52. Mail Surveys Speed of data collection Geographical flexibility
Researcher has no control over return of questionnaire; slow
Geographical flexibility
High
Respondent cooperation
Moderate--poorly designed questionnaire will have low response rate

53. Mail Surveys Versatility of questioning Questionnaire length
Highly standardized format
Questionnaire length
Varies depending on incentive
Item non response
High

54. Mail Surveys Possibility of respondent misunderstanding
Highest--no interviewer present for clarification
Degree of interviewer influence of answer
None--interviewer absent
Supervision of interviewers
Not applicable

55. Mail Surveys Anonymity of respondent Ease of call back or follow-up
High
Ease of call back or follow-up
Easy, but takes time
Cost
Lowest

56. How to Increase Response Rates for Mail Surveys
Write a “sales oriented” cover letter
Money helps
- As a token of appreciation
- For a charity
Stimulate respondents’ interest with interesting questions
Follow Up
- Keying questionnaires with codes
Advanced notification
Sponsorship by a well-known and prestigious institution

57. Increasing Response Rates
Effective cover letter
Money helps
Interesting questions
Follow-ups
Advanced notification
Survey sponsorship
Keying questionnaires

58. E-Mail Questionnaire Surveys
Speed of data collection
Instantaneous
Geographic flexibility
worldwide
Cheaper distribution and processing costs

59. E-Mail Questionnaire Surveys
Flexible, but
Extensive differences in the capabilities of respondents’ computers and software limit the types of questions and the layout
s are not secure and “eavesdropping” can possibly occur
Respondent cooperation
Varies depending if is seen as “spam”

60. 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.

62. Internet Surveys Speed of data collection Cost effective
Instantaneous
Cost effective
Geographic flexibility
worldwide
Visual and interactive

63. Internet Surveys Respondent cooperation Varies depending on web site
Varies depending on type of sample
When user does not opt-in or expect a voluntary survey cooperation is low.
Self-selection problems in web site visitation surveys - participants tend to be more deeply involved than the average person.

64. Internet Surveys Versatility of questioning Questionnaire length
Extremely versatile
Questionnaire length
Individualized based on respondent answers
Longer questionnaires with panel samples
Item nonresponse
Software can assure none

65. Internet Surveys Representative samples
The quality of internet samples may vary substantially.
A sample of those who visit a web page and voluntarily fill out a questionnaires can have self-selection error.

66. Internet Surveys
1) not all individuals in the general public have internet access
2) many respondents lack powerful computers with high-speed connections to the internet
3) many respondents computer skills will be relatively unsophisticated.

67. Internet Surveys Possibility for respondent misunderstanding
High
Interviewer influence of answers
None
Supervision of interviewers not required

68. Internet Surveys Anonymity of Respondent Ease of Callback or Follow-up
Respondent can be anonymous or known
Ease of Callback or Follow-up
difficult unless address is known
Special Features
allows graphics and streaming media

69. Welcome Screen Welcome Screen like a cover letter
It contains the name of the research company and how to contact the organization if there is a problem or concern.
"If you have any concerns or questions about this survey, or if you experience any technical difficulties, please contact (NAME OF RESEARCH ORGANIZATION).

70. Welcome Screen should ask for password and give instructions
Please enter your personal password from your invitation.Then, press the "enter" key to begin the survey or simply click on the right arrow at the bottom of the page to begin the survey (after you have read the remaining instructions):
During the survey, please do not use your browser's FORWARD and BACK buttons.
Use the arrows on the lower right to move backward and forward through the survey.

71. Pretesting
A trial run with a group of respondents to iron out fundamental problems in the instructions of survey design