Topic 5 survey methods

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RESEARCH IN RESEARCH IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS INFORMATION SYSTEMS

MANAGEMENTMANAGEMENT(IMS 603)(IMS 603)

Topic 5:Topic 5:Survey MethodsSurvey Methods

DEFINITION OF SURVEYDEFINITION OF SURVEY

A research technique in which information A research technique in which information gathered from a sample of people by use gathered from a sample of people by use of a questionnaire;of a questionnaire;

A method of data collection based on A method of data collection based on communication with a respective sample communication with a respective sample of individuals.of individuals.

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PRIMARY DATAPRIMARY DATA

Data gathered and assembled specifically Data gathered and assembled specifically for the research project at hand.for the research project at hand.

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SURVEY OBJECTIVESSURVEY OBJECTIVES

Attempt to describe what is happening or Attempt to describe what is happening or to learn the reasons for a particular to learn the reasons for a particular business activity.business activity.

Most survey is Most survey is descriptivedescriptive..

To identify characteristics of a particular To identify characteristics of a particular group, measure attitudes, performance, group, measure attitudes, performance, satisfaction and describe behavioral satisfaction and describe behavioral patterns.patterns.

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ADVANTAGES OF SURVEYSADVANTAGES OF SURVEYS

Surveys provide quick, inexpensive, Surveys provide quick, inexpensive, efficient and accurate means of assessing efficient and accurate means of assessing information about the population.information about the population.

Quite flexible when properly conducted.Quite flexible when properly conducted.

Quite scientific and accurate.Quite scientific and accurate.

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TYPES OF PRIMARY DATA TYPES OF PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION METHODCOLLECTION METHOD

Data Collection Method

Passive Active

Disguised/ Undisguised

Structured/ Unstructured

Human/ Mechanical

Disguised/ Undisguised

Structured/ Unstructured

•Personal

•Telephone

•Mail

•Mechanical

SURVEYS RESEARCH SURVEYS RESEARCH METHODSMETHODS

Surveys may be classified according to the Surveys may be classified according to the method of communication, the degree of method of communication, the degree of structure and amount of disguise in a structure and amount of disguise in a questionnaire, and the time frame in which questionnaire, and the time frame in which the data are collected.the data are collected.

Three methods of data collection modes Three methods of data collection modes are:are:

Personal interviewsPersonal interviews

Telephone interviewsTelephone interviews

Mail and Internet surveysMail and Internet surveys03/17/1503/17/15

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1. Personal Interviews1. Personal Interviews

A personal interview (i.e. face-to-face) is a A personal interview (i.e. face-to-face) is a two-way conversation initiated by an two-way conversation initiated by an interviewer to obtain information from a interviewer to obtain information from a respondent. respondent. The interviewer generally controls the The interviewer generally controls the topics and patterns of discussion.topics and patterns of discussion.

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1. Personal Interviews (cont.)1. Personal Interviews (cont.)

Major concerns:Major concerns: Non-responseNon-response Response errorsResponse errors

Non-responseNon-response Call-back, prior introduction, specific timesCall-back, prior introduction, specific times

Response BiasResponse Bias Interview variations (situations, interviewer)Interview variations (situations, interviewer) Question structuring & sequence (protocol)Question structuring & sequence (protocol) Method of administration (socially accepted)Method of administration (socially accepted) Respondent error (intentional and unintentional)Respondent error (intentional and unintentional)

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IntroductionIntroduction Establishes rapportEstablishes rapport

Gather DataGather Data Probing (brief assertion of understanding, Probing (brief assertion of understanding,

expectant pause, repeating the question, expectant pause, repeating the question, repeating the answer, neutral comment, repeating the answer, neutral comment, question clarification)question clarification)

Recording the InterviewRecording the Interview

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IntroductionIntroduction Establishes rapportEstablishes rapport

Gather DataGather Data Probing (brief assertion of understanding, Probing (brief assertion of understanding,

expectant pause, repeating the question, expectant pause, repeating the question, repeating the answer, neutral comment, repeating the answer, neutral comment, question clarification)question clarification)

Recording the InterviewRecording the Interview

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1. Personal Interviews (cont.)1. Personal Interviews (cont.)Two types of personal interviews:Two types of personal interviews:• Door-to-doorDoor-to-door

Personal interview conducted at the respondent’s Personal interview conducted at the respondent’s home or place of business -> cost higher.home or place of business -> cost higher.

• Mail-intercept interviewMail-intercept interview

A personal interview conducted in a shopping mall A personal interview conducted in a shopping mall or other high-traffic area.or other high-traffic area.

Interviewers generally will intercept shoppers at Interviewers generally will intercept shoppers at the central point within or at an entrance to the mall.the central point within or at an entrance to the mall.

Cost lower as no travelling expenses is required to Cost lower as no travelling expenses is required to the respondents home.the respondents home.

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2. Telephone Interviews2. Telephone Interviews

• Contacting respondents by telephone to gather Contacting respondents by telephone to gather responses to survey questions.responses to survey questions.

• Computer assisted telephone interviewers enter Computer assisted telephone interviewers enter responses directly into computers.responses directly into computers.

• People are more willing to cooperate through People are more willing to cooperate through telephone interviews compared to personal telephone interviews compared to personal interview.interview.

• Telephone surveys can provide representative Telephone surveys can provide representative samples of the general population.samples of the general population.

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2. Telephone Interviews (cont.)2. Telephone Interviews (cont.)Two types of telephone interviews:Two types of telephone interviews:• Central Location Interviewing Central Location Interviewing

Telephone interviews conducted from a central Telephone interviews conducted from a central location; it allows effective supervision and location; it allows effective supervision and control of the quality of interviewing.control of the quality of interviewing.

• Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI)(CATI)

A type of telephone interview in which the A type of telephone interview in which the interviewer reads question from a computer interviewer reads question from a computer screen and enters the respondent’s answer screen and enters the respondent’s answer directly into a computer.directly into a computer.

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2. Telephone Interviews (cont.)2. Telephone Interviews (cont.)Advantages:Advantages:• Speed of data collectionSpeed of data collection..

Data can be collected overnight rather than Data can be collected overnight rather than requiring several weeks for data collection by requiring several weeks for data collection by email or personal interview.email or personal interview.

• Cost of telephone interviews is relatively Cost of telephone interviews is relatively inexpensive inexpensive as compared to personal interviews. as compared to personal interviews.

Travel time and the cost of travel are eliminated.Travel time and the cost of travel are eliminated.• Absence of face-to-face contactAbsence of face-to-face contact..

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2. Telephone Interviews (cont.)2. Telephone Interviews (cont.)Disadvantages:Disadvantages:• Samples may not be representative of the Samples may not be representative of the

population.population.

When the group of interest consists of the general population, there are practical difficulties in obtaining a representative sample based on listings in the telephone directory.

• Lack of Visual Medium.Lack of Visual Medium.

Research that requires visual material cannot be Research that requires visual material cannot be conducted by phone. Certain attitude scales and conducted by phone. Certain attitude scales and measuring instruments cannot be used easily measuring instruments cannot be used easily because a graphic scale is needed.because a graphic scale is needed.

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2. Telephone Interviews (cont.)2. Telephone Interviews (cont.)Disadvantages:Disadvantages:• Limited Duration.Limited Duration.

Length of the interview is limited. Respondents who feel they have spent too much time in the interview will simply hang up. Refusal to cooperate with interviewers is directly related to interview length.

A good rule of thumb is to plan telephone interviews to be approximately 10 minutes long.

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3. Mail and Internet Surveys3. Mail and Internet SurveysA self-administered questionnaire sent through the mail to respondents.

Advantages:Advantages:•Geographic convenienceGeographic convenience

It can reach a geographically dispersed sample simultaneously, at a relatively low cost.•Respondent convenienceRespondent convenience

Questionnaire can be filled at respondent’s own time and pace.•Interviewer’s absenceInterviewer’s absence

Field interviewer is not required.

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3. Mail and Internet Surveys3. Mail and Internet SurveysAdvantages:Advantages:•Standardized questionsStandardized questions

Mail questionnaires are highly standardized and the questions are quite structured.•Length of mail questionnaire Length of mail questionnaire

Rule of thumb for mail questionnaire should not be more than six pages. This is to encourage more response.

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3. Mail and Internet Surveys3. Mail and Internet SurveysDisadvantages:Disadvantages:•Low response rate in some modes.•No interviewers intervention available for probing or explanation.•Cannot be long or complex.•Accurate mailing list needed.

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SELF-ADMINISTERED SELF-ADMINISTERED SURVEYSURVEY

TypeType Intercept StudyIntercept Study Mail surveyMail survey

DisadvantagesDisadvantages Large non-response errorLarge non-response error Superficial dataSuperficial data

Improving Response RateImproving Response Rate Reduced length; survey sponsorship, return envelope, Reduced length; survey sponsorship, return envelope,

return postage, personalization, anonymity, size color return postage, personalization, anonymity, size color and reproduction, deadline dates, cover lettersand reproduction, deadline dates, cover letters

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Factors Determining the Choice Factors Determining the Choice of a Particular Survey Methodof a Particular Survey Method

a)a) Flexibility of data collectionFlexibility of data collection

Refers to the ability to use different types of question formats, to personalize the questionnaire, explain difficult questions or scales, etc.

b)b) Diversity of questionsDiversity of questions

Refer to the different types of questions which are appropriate for the mode of data collection. Personal and telephone interviews offer a good diversity questions.

c)c) Use of physical stimuliUse of physical stimuli

Refers to the ability to use products, commercials or other stimuli during the data collection.

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d)d) Sample controlSample control

Refers to the ability of the survey mode to reach the units specified in the sample effectively and efficiently. In-home personal interview offer the best sample control.

e)e) Control of the data collection environmentControl of the data collection environment

Refer to the degree of control the researcher has over the environment in which the respondent answers the questions.

f)f) Quantity of dataQuantity of data

Refer to the amount of data which can be collected. In-home personal interviews can produce a large amount of data.

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g)g) Response rateResponse rate

Refer to the percentage of individuals approached who actually complete the questionnaire. Personal in-home interviewers yield the highest response rate.

h)h) Perceived anonymityPerceived anonymity

Refers to the respondents’ perceptions that their identities are not known to the researcher or interviewer. Mail surveys has the highest perceived anonymity followed by telephone interviews.

i)i) Sensitive informationSensitive information

Mail surveys are very good at obtaining sensitive information.

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j)j) Potential interviewer biasPotential interviewer bias

Refer to the likelihood of an interviewer biasing the results. In-home personal interviews have a high degree of susceptibility to interviewer bias.

k)k) SpeedSpeed

Refer to how quickly the sample size may be obtained. Telephone interviews is the fastest ways of obtaining information.

l)l) CostCost

Personal interview tends to be most expensive.

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Data Analysis – The StagesData Analysis – The Stages

InterpretationInterpretation

PreanalyticalPreanalytical•Data Editing

•Variable Development

•Data Coding

•Error Check

Data AnalysisData Analysis•Feel for Data

•Goodness of Measures

•Inferential: Testing & Relationships

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Data Analysis - TypesData Analysis - Types

Number of VariablesNumber of VariablesUnivariate; Bivariate; MultivariateUnivariate; Bivariate; Multivariate

Level of MeasurementsLevel of MeasurementsNominal, Ordinal, Interval & RatioNominal, Ordinal, Interval & Ratio

Purpose of StudyPurpose of StudyExploratory; Test of Differences; Exploratory; Test of Differences; Establishing RelationshipsEstablishing Relationships

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The Right Technique?The Right Technique?

Number of VariablesNumber of VariablesUnivariate; Bivariate; MultivariateUnivariate; Bivariate; Multivariate

Level of MeasurementsLevel of MeasurementsParametric and Non-parametricParametric and Non-parametric

Research QuestionResearch QuestionConcern for Central Tendency; Concern for Central Tendency; Comparing groups; RelationshipsComparing groups; Relationships

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The Right Technique?The Right Technique?

What is the purpose of the analysis?What is the purpose of the analysis?

What is the level of measurement?What is the level of measurement?

How many variables are involved?How many variables are involved?

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Descriptive AnalysisDescriptive Analysis

TechniquesTechniquesFrequencies Distribution - if 1 ordinal or Frequencies Distribution - if 1 ordinal or nominal variable, nominal variable,

Cross-tabulation - if 2 ordinal or nominal Cross-tabulation - if 2 ordinal or nominal variables variables

Means - if 1 interval or ratio level variable Means - if 1 interval or ratio level variable

Means of subgroups - if 1 interval or ratio Means of subgroups - if 1 interval or ratio level variable by subgroupslevel variable by subgroups

PurposePurpose: : To describe the distribution of the To describe the distribution of the variables of interestvariables of interest

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Test of DifferencesTest of Differences

TechniquesTechniques depends on depends onLevels of Measurement of the VariableLevels of Measurement of the Variable

Number of GroupsNumber of Groups

Independence of the GroupsIndependence of the Groups

PurposePurpose: : To evaluate the differences To evaluate the differences between 2 or more groups with respect to a between 2 or more groups with respect to a variable of interestvariable of interest

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Test of DifferencesTest of Differences

More than 2 group?

Are they independent

?

Are they independent

?

Nominal: χ2-test

Ordinal: Mann-Whitney

Continuous: t-test

Yes

Nominal: McNemar

Ordinal: Wilcoxon Signed Rank

Continuous:-Paired t-test

No

No Yes

Nominal: χ2 test

Ordinal: Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA

Continuous: 1-way ANOVA

Nominal: χ2 - test

Ordinal: Friedman 2-way ANOVA

Continuous: Factorial 2-way

ANOVA

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RelationshipRelationship

Techniques Techniques depends ondepends onWhether or not there exist dependent Whether or not there exist dependent variable(s)variable(s)

Number of dependent and independent Number of dependent and independent variablesvariables

Levels of Measurement of the VariableLevels of Measurement of the Variable

PurposePurpose: : To establish relationship To establish relationship between variablesbetween variables

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Dependence RelationshipsDependence Relationships

How many dependent variables?

Scale of Dependent

Multiple Regression

ANOVA Discriminant Analysis

Canonical Correlation

Scale of Independe

nt

Scale of Dependent

Scale of Independen

t

Multivariate ANOVA

More than 1One

Conjoint Analysis

Scale of independen

t

Interval

Nominal

Interval Nominal

Scale of Independe

ntInterval Nominal

Interval

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Contents of a Research ProposalContents of a Research Proposal

Data preparationData preparation

A brief description of research methodologyA brief description of research methodology

Data collectionData collection

Data analysis and interpretationData analysis and interpretation

Research reportingResearch reporting

A statement of the research problemA statement of the research problem

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Final WordsFinal Words

Good Luck in Your Research and Remember

the Good Research begins with an Inquisitive Mind

Leadership & Management

Topic 5 survey methods