Chapter 7 Survey Research

Mail questionnaire

-Geographic flexibility -Cost -Respondent convenience -Respondent anonymity -Absence of interviewer -Standardized questions -Time is money -Length of mail questionnaire—10 minutes or less

Incentives

-Increase response rates -Prepaid incentives do better than promised incentives -Response rates increase with the size of incentive -Can influence what type of person responds

Systematic error

Error resulting from some imperfect aspect of the research design

Mall intercepts

Personal interviews conducted in shopping center

People who provide answers to survey questions are often called ____. a. researchers b. clients c. respondents d. users

ANS: C

Text-Message Survey

-Text-message surveys have all the advantages of mobile-phone surveys, including increased reach -Can only be used for respondents who have opted in with expressed consent -MMS messages can include graphic displays or even short videos

2 Major Respondent Error categories

-nonresponse error bias -response bias

Increasing response rates

-Include a cover letter -Provide incentives -Give advance notification -Keep survey sponsorship anonymous -Keying mail questionnaires with codes -the researcher knows who has responded and remove them from the sample list

No call legislation

-marketers cannot call phone listed on the do not call registry

Which type of bias is occurring when a respondent tells the interviewer that he reads The Wall Street Journal on a daily basis so that he can impress the interviewer? a. interviewer bias b. auspices bias c. administrative bias d. acquiescence bias

ANS: A

A trial run of a survey with a group of respondents who are representative of the target group for the survey is called a ____. a. Callback b. Pretest c. drop-off method d. dry run

ANS: B

All of the following are typically advantages of Internet survey research EXCEPT that it is ____. a. relatively low in cost b. representative of the population c. efficient in gathering large amounts of data d. accurate means of collecting information

ANS: B

Administration error

An error caused by improper administration or execution of the research task (carelessness,confusion,neglect,omission )

Disadvantages of personal interviews

-interviewer bias:respondents act differently with different interviewers -lack of anonymity of respondent -cost (personal interviews are expensive)

Advantages of E-Mail

-Speed -Lower cost -Faster turn around time -More flexibility -Less manual processing -Candid responses

Advantages of personal interviews

-opportunity for feedback -probing complex answers -length of interview -completeness of questionnaire -props and visual aids -high participation

Advantages of survey research

-quick -inexpensive -efficient -accurate -flexible

Phone Interview Characteristics

-random digital dialing -landline vs. mobile phone results -speed -cost -absence of face to face contact -cooperation -incentives to respond -lack of visual medium

Sample survey

A more formal term for a survey emphasizing that respondents opinions presumably represent a sample of the larger target population's opinion

Drop-off method

A survey method that requires the interviewer to travel to the respondent's location to drop off questionnaires that will be picked up later

Clark was asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire posted at MySurvey.com. What type of survey did Clark complete? a. Internet survey b. mixed-mode survey c. computer-assisted interactive survey d. networked survey

ANS: A

People who are unwilling to participate in a research project are referred to as ____. a. Refusals b. Deviations c. no contacts d. random errors

ANS: A

Systematic error is divided into ____. a. respondent error and administrative error b. random sampling error and administrative error c. response bias and interview error d. primary error and secondary error

ANS: A

When a research company pulls a random sample of people from a phone book and that sample does not include people with unlisted numbers or who do not have landline telephone service, we say that the sample contains ____. a. sample selection error b. acquiescence bias c. social desirability error d. auspices bias

ANS: A

Which survey research method is typically the most expensive? a. door-to-door personal interview b. mall intercept personal interview c. telephone interview d. mail survey

ANS: A

Which term is sometimes used to refer to interviewers filling in responses for respondents that do not really exist? a. curb-stoning b. auspices bias c. self-selection d. mere-measurement effect

ANS: A

In a research study, a potential respondent who is not at home at either the first or second attempt to reach this person by phone is classified as a(n) ____. a. sample bias b. no contact c. Interviewee d. random sampling error

ANS: B

All of the following are advantages of Internet surveys EXCEPT ____. a.random sampling b.speed c.visual appeal d.accurate real-time data capture

ANS: A

When a hotel customer decides to fill out a customer satisfaction survey to complain about having to wait an hour for room service to deliver his dinner, ____ has occurred. a. random sampling error b. self-selection bias c. auspices bias d. social desirability bias

ANS: B

When a research study is not conducted according to the plan in the proposal for the research study, what kind of error has occurred? a. random sampling error b. systematic error c. respondent error d. implementation error

ANS: B

Which type of bias occurs when a respondent wishes to create a favorable impression or save face in the presence of an interviewer? a. random sampling bias b. social desirability bias c. administrative bias d. interviewer cheating

ANS: B

Barbara received a phone call asking her to participate in a survey. She told the interviewer that she was too busy and would not participate. This is an example of ____. a. random sampling error b. administrative error c. nonresponse error d. interviewer error

ANS: C

The number of questionnaires returned or completed divided by the number of eligible people who were asked to participate in the survey is called ____. a. Churn b. return ratio c. response rate d. success rate

ANS: C

When an interviewer unintentionally and mistakenly checks the wrong response on a checklist during an interview, ____ has occurred. a. interviewer cheating b. auspices bias c. interviewer error d. social desirability bias

ANS: C

Which survey research method offers the lowest degree of respondent anonymity? a. telephone interview b. mail survey c. mall intercept interview d. Internet survey

ANS: C

People who cannot be contacted or who refuse to participate are called ____. a. random errors b. biased respondents c. sample selection errors d. Nonrespondents

ANS: D

John was called by a market researcher and asked a few questions about his television viewing habits. The researcher then asked him to go to a Web site to complete a more comprehensive survey. This type of study that employs a combination of survey methods is called a ____. a. two-stage survey b. pre- and posttest c. multi-media survey d. mixed-mode survey

ANS: D

Survey software can require someone to answer a question but this too could be seen as unethical. How can the ethical issue best be resolved? a. This issue cannot be resolved, so the question should be removed. b. Respondents can be told in the informed consent process that there are required questions. c. Respondents can be paid or given some other incentive to answer the question. d. A "do not know" or "prefer not to answer" alternative can be included with the question.

ANS: D

Systematic errors are also called ____. a. random sampling error b. interviewer error c. nonresponse error d. nonsampling errors

ANS: D

The tendency for respondents to agree with most questions in a survey is known as ____. a. auspices bias b. interviewer bias c. extremity bias d. acquiescence bias

ANS: D

When a respondent tells an interviewer that his annual income last year was $50,000 because he is embarrassed to admit that it was $25,000, ____ has occurred. a. nonresponse error b. auspices bias c. interviewer cheating d. deliberate falsification

ANS: D

Which type of bias occurs when respondents tend to answer questions with a certain slant? a. interviewer bias b. self-selection bias c. self-preservation bias d. response bias

ANS: D

social desirability

Bias in responses caused by respondents desire,either conscious or unconscious, to gain prestige or appear in a different social role

E-Mail Survey

Can include: -Survey in the body of an e-mail -Survey as an attachment -A hyperlink to a Web-based survey Most people can be sampled via e-mail

Survey

represents a way of describing public opinion by collecting primary data through communicating directly with individual sampling units

Types of nonresponse errors

-no contacts -refusals

2 categories of response bias

-deliberate falsification Ex. "Look good" -unconscious misrepresentation Ex. "How do you rate your education at AU"

Response bias

Bias that occurs when respondents either consciously or unconsciously answer questions with a certain slant that misrepresents the truth

Surveys in which the respondent takes the responsibility for reading and answering questions are called ____. a. self-administered questionnaires b. independent questionnaires c. stand-alone surveys d. interactive questionnaires

ANS: A

When a research agency conducts all telephone interviews from a single location where they can hire a staff of professional interviewers and supervise and control the quality of interviewing more effectively, ____ is being used. a. central location interviewing b. single-mode interviewing c. synergistic interviewing d. quick-response interviewing

ANS: A

When an interviewer fails to write the respondent's answer to a question verbatim because the respondent talks faster than the interviewer can write, ____ has occurred. a. acquiescence error b. interviewer error c. auspices bias d. interviewer cheating

ANS: B

Which survey method offers the least geographic flexibility? a. telephone interview b. door-to-door personal interview c. Internet survey d. mail survey

ANS: B

Self administered questionnaires

Surveys in which the respondent takes the responsibility for reading & answering without having them stated orally by an interviewer

acquiescence bias

Tendency for a respondent to try to agree with the viewpoint of a survey

Conducting personal interviews

Interactive face to face communication in which an interviewer asks a respondent to answer questions

Door-to-door interviews

Personal interviews conducted at respondents doorsteps in an effort to increase the participation rate in the survey

No contacts

Potential respondents who do not receive the request to participate in the research

Pretesting

Screening procedure that involves a trial run with a group of respondents to iron out fundamental problems in the survey design

extremity bias

Some individuals tend to use extremes when responding to questions

Response rates

The number of questionnaires returned and completed divided by the number of sample members

Respondents

The people who answer questions during a survey

Click-Through Rate

The portion of potential respondents exposed to a hyperlink to a survey who actually click through to view the questionnaire

interviewer bias

The presence of the interviewer influences respondents answers

Nonresponse error

The statistical difference between a survey that includes those who responded and those failed to respond

Improve Response Rates

- click-through rate -incentives -Maximizing response rate does not guarantee sample representativeness

Robocalls

A phone call conducted by an autodialer and using recorded voice message system

Respondent error

A category of sample bias resulting from the sakes respondent action such as lying or inaction

Disadvantages of E-Mail

-Possible lack of anonymity -Spam filters -Problems with successful delivery

Internet Surveys

-Speed and cost-effectiveness -Visual appeal and interactivity -Respondent participation and cooperation -Crowdsourcing—inviting many, many people; even a small percentage generates a usable sample -Accurate real-time data capture -Callbacks (should not be used for anonymous surveys) -Personalized and flexible questioning -Respondent anonymity

Types of response bias

-acquiescence bias -extremity bias -interviewer bias -social desirability

Callbacks

-attempts to try and contact those sample members missed in the initial attempt -CATI:acronym for computer-assisted telephone interviews

Disadvantages of survey research

-can have errors (cause misleading results ) -surveys are no better than the quality of the sample and answers obtained

Types of administrative error

-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 -interviewer cheating: filling in fake answers or falsifying questionnaires during an interview

Refusals

People who are unwilling to participate

Self selection bias

People who feel strongly about a subject are more likely to respond -most enthusiastic -problems with survey actual customers

Sampling error

Error arising because of inadequacies of the actual respondents to represent the population of interest