Survey Research

• Survey research asks people about themselves: what they think, what they do, who they are, etc.

• The first decision to make when doing survey research is whether to administer the survey in person or remotely.

• Both personal interviews and impersonal questionnaires have advantages and disadvantages. It is important to keep the limitations of each in mind when choosing a method.

• A word on response rates.

• For further reading:
  • http://www.surveysystem.com/sdesign.htm

Interviews:

(Face to face or telephone)

Advantages:

• You can build rapport with the subject
• The questions can be more complex
• You can probe for fuller answers
• You may obtain higher response rates

Disadvantages:

• You are limited to local respondents
• You have a smaller sample size
• Respondents have no anonymity
• Methods are more time intensive and expensive

Questionnaires:

(Mailed or handed out)

Advantages:

• Maintains anonymity
• You can have bigger samples
• Much cheaper to administer

Disadvantages:

• Respondents may not understand the question and are left without help
• Limited to simpler question design
• Lower response rate