Part 2 3rd

rd Edition

Designing
Research
Studies William G. Zikmund
Barry J. Babin

Chapter 7
Survey Research: An
Overview

PowerPoint
PowerPoint Presentation
Presentation by
by Charlie
Charlie Cook
Cook
The
The University
University of
of West
West Alabama
Alabama
The Nature of Surveys

• Survey
 A method of collecting primary data in which
information is gathered by communicating with a
representative sample of people
• Respondents
 People who verbally answer an interviewer’s
questions or provide answers to written questions.

7–2
The Nature of Surveys (cont’d)
• Survey Objectives: Type of Information
Gathered
 Surveys attempt to describe what is happening or to
learn the reasons for a particular marketing activity.
 Survey research is descriptive research:
 Identifying characteristics of target markets
 Measuring consumer attitudes

 Describing consumer purchasing patterns

 Surveys can be both quantitative and qualitative
 Surveys can be designed to provide insights about
causal explanations or to explore ideas.

7–3
Categories of Survey Errors

7–4
Errors in Survey Research
• Random Sampling Error
 A statistical fluctuation that occurs because of chance
variation in the elements selected for a sample.
• Systematic Error
 Error resulting from some imperfect aspect of the
research design that causes respondent error or from
a mistake in the execution of the research.
• Sample Bias
 A persistent tendency for the results of a sample to
deviate in one direction from the true value of the
population parameter.

7–5
Respondent Error
• Respondent Error
 A category of sample bias resulting from some
respondent action or inaction such as nonresponse or
response bias.
• Nonresponse Error
 The statistical differences between a survey that
includes only those who responded and a perfect
survey that would also include those who failed to
respond.

7–6
Respondent Error (cont’d)
• Nonrespondents
 People who are not contacted or who refuse to
cooperate in the research.
 No contacts: people who are not at home or who are
otherwise inaccessible on the first and second contact.
 Refusals: People who are unwilling to participate in a
research project.

• Self-Selection Bias
 A bias that occurs because people who feel strongly
about a subject are more likely to respond to survey
questions than people who feel indifferent about it.

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Response Bias
• Response Bias
 A bias that occurs when respondents either
consciously or unconsciously tend to answer
questions with a certain slant that misrepresents the
truth.
 When researchers identify response bias, they should
include a corrective measure.

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Types of Response Bias
• Acquiescence Bias
 A tendency to agree with all or most questions.

• Extremity Bias
 The tendency of some Individuals to use extremes when
responding to questions.
• Interviewer Bias
 The presence of the interviewer influences respondents’
answers.
• Social Desirability Bias
 Bias in responses caused by respondents’ desire, either
conscious or unconscious, to gain prestige or appear in a
different social role.

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Administrative Error
• Administrative Error
 Errors in research task results due to the improper
administration or execution of the research task.
 Data-processing error: incorrect data entry, incorrect
computer programming, or other procedural errors during
data analysis.
 Sample selection error: improper sample design or
sampling procedure execution.
 Interviewer error: mistakes made by interviewers failing to
record survey responses correctly.
 Interviewer cheating: filling in fake answers or falsifying
questionnaires by an interviewer.

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Survey Research by Media
• Surveys ask a respondent for information using
verbal or written questioning.
 There is no best form of survey; each form has
advantages and disadvantages.
• Communicating with Respondents
 Personal interviews
 Door-to-door
 Shopping mall intercepts
 Telephone interviews

 Self-administered questionnaires
 Paper surveys
 Internet surveys

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 Advantages of Personal Interviews

Opportunity
for Feedback
High Probing Complex
Participation Answers

Personal
Personal
Props and Interviews
Interviews Length of
Visual Aids Interview

Completeness of
Questionnaire

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Disadvantages of Personal Interviews

Lack
Lackof
of
Interviewer
Interviewer Anonymity
Anonymityof
of
Influence
Influence Respondent
Respondent

Personal
Personal
Interviews
Interviews

Cost
Cost

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Personal Interviews
1. Door-to-Door Interview
 Personal Interviews conducted at respondents’
doorstep in an effort to increase the participation rate
in the survey.

2. Callbacks
 Attempts to re-contact individuals selected for a
sample who were not available initially.

3. Mall Intercept Interviews

 Personal Interviews conducted in a shopping mall.

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Characteristics of Telephone
Interviews
• Speed
• Call backs
• Cost

• Absence of face-to-face contact

• Cooperation
• Representative samples
• Limited duration
• Lack of visual medium

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Types of Telephone Interviews

• Central Location Interviewing

 Conducting interviews from a central location.

• Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI)

 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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Self-Administered Questionnaires Can Be Either Printed or
Electronic

7–17
Self-Administered Questionnaires
• Characteristics of Mail Questionnaires
 Geographical flexibility
 Respondent convenience
 Anonymity of respondent
 Standardized questions
 Length of mail questionnaire

 Cost
 Absence of interviewer

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Mail Questionnaires
• Response Rate
 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
 Persons who will complete questionnaires versus
those persons who will not.
 Literate
 Retired, At-Home, Relatively less busy, etc.

 Person filling out survey is not the intended subject.

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Increasing Response Rates for Mail
Surveys
• Cover letter
• Money helps
• Interesting questions
• Follow-ups
• Advance notification
• Survey sponsorship
• Keying mail questionnaires
with codes

7–20
Self-Administered Questionnaires
(cont’d)
• Fax Survey
 A survey that uses fax machines as a way for
respondents to receive and return questionnaires.
• Advantages of the Fax Survey
 Reduce sender’s printing and postage costs
 Is quicker than traditional mail surveys
• Disadvantage of the Fax Survey
 Only respondents with fax machines who are willing
to exert the extra effort will return questionnaires.

7–21
Self-Administered Questionnaires
(cont’d)
•E-Mail Surveys
 Surveys distributed through electronic mail.
 Benefits:
 Speed of distribution
 Lower distribution and processing costs
 Faster turnaround time
 More flexibility
 Less handling of paper questionnaires

 Potential Problems:
 Anonymity of respondents creating response bias
 Capacity of e-mail systems and computers
 Computer skills/competencies of respondents

7–22
Self-Administered Questionnaires
(cont’d)
•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.

7–23
Self-Administered Questionnaires
(cont’d)
•Problems with Internet Surveys
 Not all individuals have internet
access.
 Respondents may lack powerful
computers with high-speed
connections to the internet.
 Respondents’ computer skills
may be relatively unsophisticated.

7–24
Selecting the Appropriate Survey
Research Technique
• Questions to be answered:
 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?

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Typical Survey Methods

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Typical Survey Methods
(cont’d)

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Selecting the Appropriate Survey
Research Technique (cont’d)
• Pretesting
 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:
 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

7–28