Course Name: Advanced Research Technique Prepared by: Zanyar Nathir 2014

 Introduction  What is survey?  Characteristics of a good questionnaire  Classification of survey  Choosing a survey method  Advantages and disadvantages of survey  When is a survey appropriate  The survey techniques  Interpreting results when your response rate is low

 SURVEYS are a research method by which information is typically gathered by asking a subset of people questions on a specific topic and generalize the results to a larger population.They are an essential component of many types of research including public opinion, politics, health, and others. SURVEYS are especially important when addressing topics that are difficult to assess using other approaches (e.g., in studies assessing constructs that require individual self-report about beliefs, knowledge, attitudes, opinions, or satisfaction). However, there is substantial literature to show that the methods used in conducting SURVEY research can significantly affect the reliability, validity, and generalize ability of study results Without clear reporting of the methods used in surveys, it is difficult or impossible to assess these characteristics.

 The survey is a method for collecting information or data as reported by individuals. Surveys are questionnaires (or a series of questions) that are administered to research participants who answer the questions themselves. Since the participants are providing the information, it is referred to as self-report data. Surveys are used to get an idea of how a group or population feels about a number of things such as political debates, new businesses, classes, and religious views, to name a few. Additionally, surveys can be a way for people to measure how often or how little people engage in different behaviors such as smoking or drinking alcohol.

 1) It deals with a significant topic, one the respondent will recognize as important enough to warrant spending one’s time on. The significance should be clearly and carefully stated on the questionnaire or in the letter that accompanies it.  2) It only seeks information that cannot be obtained from other sources such as school reports or census data.  3) It is as short as possible and only long enough to get the essential data. Long questionnaires frequently find their way into the wastebasket.  4) It is attractive in appearance, neatly arranged, and clearly duplicated or printed.

 5) Directions are clear and complete. Important terms are defined. Each question deals with a single idea and is worded as simply and clearly as possible.  6) The questions are objective with no leading suggestions as to the responses desired.  7) Questions are presented in good psychological order, proceeding from general to more specific responses. The order helps respondents to organize their own thinking so that their answers are logical and objective.  8) It is easy to tabulate and interpret.

 A survey is most appropriate when your evaluation questions and information needs are best answers by the people themselves. Often we want people own reports of their opinions and behaviors. There are things we can not see directly. Such as attitudes and beliefs, or we may not be able. To observe people of actions, such as their daily consumption of fruits and vegetables. So we have to ask them.Not all information but a variety of alternatives exist such as.  Observations  Existing data, records, documents  Tests of abilities  Case study.

 1) Longitudinal surveys: gather information at different points in time in order to study changes over extended periods of time.  a) Panel study: the same subjects are surveyed at different times over an extended period. Because the same subjects are studied over time, researchers can see the changes in the individuals’ behavior and investigate the reasons for the changes.  b) Trend study: different people from the same population are surveyed at different times.  c) Cohort study: a specific population whose members changed over the duration of the study is followed over a length of time.  2) Cross-sectional surveys: study a cross section (sample) of a population at a single point in time.

 There are five main survey methods : mail, telephone, face- to face, handout, and electronic.  Each method has advantages and disadvantages. No single method is superior to another. Each needs to be assessed in terms of the survey content, respondent characteristics, time line and available resources.  One of them, handout surveys, are often used at the end of a program for at once evaluation feedback, handout surveys are a good choice when.  You want to capitalize on having respondents available for instance, already conference attending a fair, etc.  You have limited resource.  You may not be able to reach the people again, e.g. Mobile populations.

 Advantages of Surveys  1. High Representativeness  SURVEYS provide a high level of general capability in representing a large population. Due to the usual huge number of people who answers SURVEY, the data being gathered possess a better description of the relative characteristics of the general population involved in the study. As compared to other methods of data gathering, surveys are able to extract data that are near to the exact attributes of the larger population.  2. Low Costs  When conducting SURVEYS, you only need to pay for the production of survey questionnaires. If you need a larger sample of the general population, you can allot an incentive in cash or kind, which can be as low as $2 per person. On the other hand, other data gathering methods such as focus groups and personal interviews require researchers to pay more. 

 3. Convenient Data Gathering  SURVEYS can be administered to the participants through a variety of ways. The questionnaires can simply be sent via or fax, or can be administered through the Internet. Nowadays, the online survey method has been the most popular way of gathering data from target participants. Aside from the convenience of data gathering, researchers are able to collect data from people around the globe.  4. Good Statistical Significance  Because of the high representativeness brought about by the SURVEY method, it is often easier to find statistically significant results than other data gathering methods. Multiple variables can also be effectively analyzed using SURVEYS.

 5. Little or No Observer Subjectivity  Surveys are ideal for scientific research studies because they provide all the participants with a standardized stimulus. With such high reliability obtained, the researcher’s own biases are eliminated.  6. Precise Results  As questions in the SURVEY should undergo careful scrutiny and standardization, they provide uniform definitions to all the subjects who are to answer the questionnaires. Thus, there is a greater precision in terms of measuring the data gathered.

 Disadvantages of Surveys  1. Inflexible Design  The SURVEY that was used by the researcher from the very beginning, as well as the method of administering it, cannot be changed all throughout the process of data gathering. Although this inflexibility can be viewed as a weakness of the survey method, this can also be a strength considering the fact that preciseness and fairness can both be exercised in the study.  2. Not Ideal for Controversial Issues  Questions that bear controversies may not be precisely answered by the participants because of the probably difficulty of recalling the INFORMATION related to them. The truth behind these controversies may not be relieved as accurately as when using alternative data gathering methods such as face-to-face interviews and focus groups.

 3. Possible Inappropriateness of Questions  Questions in SURVEYS are always standardized before administering them to the subjects. The researcher is therefore forced to create questions that are general enough to accommodate the general population. However, these general questions may not be as appropriate for all the participants as they should be.

 The survey permits one to gather information from a large sample of people relatively quickly and inexpensively. There are five basic steps involved in survey research:  1) Planning: Survey research begins with a question that the researcher believes can be answered most appropriately by means of the survey method. The researcher needs to decide on the data-gathering technique that will be used.  2) Sampling: The researcher must make decisions about the sampling procedure that will be used and the size of the sample to survey. If one is to generalize the sample findings to the population, it is essential that the sample selected be representative of that population.

 3) Constructing the instrument: A major task in survey research is the construction of the instrument that will be used to gather the data from the sample.  4) Conducting the survey: Once the data-gathering instrument is prepared, it must be field-tested to determine if it will be provide the desired data. Also included in this step would be training of the users of the instrument, interviewing subjects or distributing questionnaires to them, and verifying the accuracy of the data gathered.  5) Processing the data: The last step includes coding the data, statistical analysis, interpreting the results, and reporting the findings.

 Types of Questions: Because survey data consist of peoples’ responses to questions, it is very important to start with good questions. Two basic types of questions are used in survey instruments:  1) Closed-ended Questions: One uses closed-ended questions when all of the possible, relevant responses to a question can be specified and the number of possible responses is limited.

 2) Open-ended questions are used when there are a great number of possible answers or when the researcher is not able to predict all the possible answers.

Fink, A. (1985). The survey handbook. CA: sage publication. Fink, A., and Jacqueline. (1985). How conducting survey. CA: Sage. SinceroSincero, S. M. (2012). Advantages and disadvantages of surveys. Retrieved from