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AT-A-GLANCE
I. Introduction
II. The Types of Information Gathered Using Surveys
A. Research suppliers and contractors
B. Advantages and disadvantages of survey research
III. Sources of Error in Surveys
A. Random versus systematic sampling error
1. Respondent error
a. Nonresponse error
b. Response bias
c. Types of response bias
i. Acquiescence bias
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ii. Extremity bias
iii. Interviewer bias
iv. Social desirability bias
d. Administrative error
B. What can be done to reduce survey error?
IV. Ways Marketing Researchers Conduct Survey Interviews
A. Interactive survey approaches
B. Noninteractive media
V. Conducting Personal Interviews
A. Advantages of personal interviews
1. Opportunity for feedback
2. Probing complex answers
3. Length of interview
4. Completeness of questionnaire
5. Props and visual aids
6. High participation rate
B. Disadvantages of personal interviews
1. Interviewer influence
2. Lack of anonymity of respondent
3. Cost
C. Mall intercepts
D. Door-to-door interviews
E. Callbacks
F. Global considerations
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G. Telephone interviews
1. Landline phones
a. No call legislation
b. Ownership
2. Mobile phones
H. Phone interview characteristics
1. Random digit dialing
2. Landline versus mobile phone results
3. Speed
4. Cost
5. Absence of face-to-face contact
6. Cooperation
7. Incentives to respond
8. Lack of visual medium
I. Central location interviewing
J. Global considerations
VI. Surveys Using Self-Administered Questionnaires
A. Mail questionnaires
3. Geographic flexibility
4. Cost
5. Respondent convenience
6. Respondent anonymity
7. Absence of interviewer
8. Standardized questions
9. Time is money
10. Length of mail questionnaire
B. Response rates
C. Increasing response rates for mail surveys
1. Cover letter
2. Incentives help
3. Advance notification
4. Survey sponsorship
5. Keying mail questionnaires with codes
D. Self-administered questionnaires using other forms of distribution
E. E-mail surveys
1. Using e-mail
2. Sampling and e-mail
3. Advantages and disadvantages of -email
F. Internet surveys
1. Speed and cost effectiveness
2. Visual appeal and interactivity
3. Respondent participation and cooperation
4. Accurate real-time data capture
5. Callbacks
6. Personalized and flexible questioning
7. Respondent anonymity
8. Improving response rates
9. Response quality
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G. Text-message surveys
H. Choosing an appropriate survey approach
VII. Pretesting Survey Instruments
VIII. Ethical Issues in Survey Research
1. Define surveys and describe the type of information that may be gathered in a survey
2. Identify sources of error in survey research.
3. Summarize the ways researchers gather information through personal interviews
4. Know the advantages and disadvantages of conducting surveys using personal interviews, telephone calls, smartphone, tablet or PC
5. Appreciate the importance of pretesting questionnaires.
6. Describe ethical issues that arise in survey research
Researchers today are taking advantage of smartphone technologies that provide several ways to capture consumer opinions. While phone calls to conduct surveys via voice communication are possible in some instances, researchers know that they do not have to talk to consumers to be able to communicate with them via a smartphone, tablet or phablet. Consumers of all ages use text messaging as a way of communicating efficiently. Mobile surveying technologies integrate SMS (short message service) survey capability into their products. Recipients of a mobile survey can receive an SMS text message, in which they can answer single or multiple-choice questions, or even provide open-ended responses to questions anytime or anywhere. The use of these types of “instant feedback” survey responses can have many different business applications. Mobile surveying is an exciting new way to capture data on respondents, no matter where they are. Texting is routine now perhaps the next time you see someone furiously texting on their cell phone, they are responding to a mobile survey “on the go”!
How would you classify the survey you participated in as part of this class? Which approach did it use? What media type was involved? What do you think the response rate for this survey is? Students are instructed to e-mail the survey link to 10 friends and to tell them that it is a survey about everyday things. Find out how many actually responded, and determine the click rate and response rate. What other survey media could be used to effectively collect this specific information?
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Sometimes a service employee will ask a customer to respond to a post-service survey, and the employee will ask the customer for a high rating. This may lead to the customer marking a lower rating, even though that lower rating does not accurately reflect the customer’s true feelings on the service received. If the goal of the company is truly to represent their customer’s perceptions, have they introduced any sources of error illustrated in Exhibit 7.1 into the process?
Insomniacs do not respond to survey questions in the same way as non-insomniacs. In fact, insomniacs produce greater response error particularly in the form of unconscious misrepresentation due to a difficulty in paying attention due to sleep deprivation This can lead to acquiescence bias associated with low involvement. While it’s clear that insomniacs increase error overall, they do seem to give fewer deliberate falsifications, such as those that lead to social desirability bias. In other words, they are more likely to give their actual occupation compared to well-rested respondents who display a tendency to make their jobs seem more important and prestigious than they really are when answering a survey.
Marketing research among disaster victims can be extremely helpful in informing companies and public institutions such as FEMA on the most urgent needs of disaster victims. If the population that one wishes to represent is disaster victims, the sampling frame will also make up disaster victims. This changes the way the research is approached. After a disaster, the researcher cannot expect that the victim will have access to the Internet, smartphone, or landline telephone. In these cases, a personal interview sometimes is the only choice. If a problem solver is trying to identify steps that can best provide aid to disaster victims, ignoring the personal interview could be a major obstacle
Internet surveys can have technical issues that a marketing researcher may not realize. For example, one researcher received a furious message from a frustrated participant who had tried and failed to complete the survey due to an oversight in the programming code used to write the survey instrument. When the user made a mistake when specifying a state of residence, the interface recorded the user’s IP address, and then locked them out of the survey. Often, this is a security feature of the survey, so that respondents can only fill out the survey once. When a mistake is made, the participant may be unable to complete the survey at all.
➢ Even a perfectly written survey will produce erroneous results when the sample is incapable of adequately representing a population due to survey error
➢ The longer the questionnaire, the lower the response rate. Anything longer than 10 minutes will get very low response rates unless special steps are taken, such as:
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â–Ş Look for respondents who are essentially a captive audience; like students in a class or people waiting for a plane
â–Ş Use a survey research panel
â–Ş Try to target the survey toward individuals who are highly involved in the topic
â–Ş Offer a nontrivial incentive to respond
➢ Telephone surveys can still produce high-quality results. However, consider supplementing with a mixed-mode approach that involves a combination of landline calls, cell calls, and Internet surveys
â–Ş In the United States, cell calls cannot be automated unless a potential respondent has opted in
➢ E-mail surveys and Internet surveys are good approaches for most types of surveys given an adequate sampling frame like those that come from professionally managed panels
â–Ş Any pretest is better than no pretest
A. Respondents are the people who answer questions during a survey.
B. Surveys provide a snapshot at a given point in time.
C. A sample survey is a more formal term for a survey emphasizing that respondents’ opinions presumably represent a sample of the larger target population’s opinion.
TYPES OF INFORMATION GATHERED USING SURVEYS
A. Questions about product use, desirable features and web habits help with product development and advertising messages.
B. Surveys gather information to assess consumer knowledge and awareness of products, brands, or issues and to measure consumer attitudes, feelings and behaviors
C. Certain aspects of surveys may be qualitative.
D. Advantages And Disadvantages of Survey Research
1. Advantages
a. Quick
b. Inexpensive
c. Efficient
d. Accurate
e. Flexible
2. Disadvantages
a. Can have errors, which cause misleading results
A. Random versus Systematic Sampling Error
1. Sampling error – error arising because of inadequacies of the actual respondents to represent the population of interest
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2. 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
3. Population parameter – refers to some true value of a phenomenon within a population
4. Sample bias – a persistent tendency for the results of a sample to deviate in one direction from the true value of the population parameter
5. Respondent Error
a. A category of sample bias resulting from some respondent action such as lying or inaction such as not responding
b. Nonresponse Error
i. Nonrespondents – sample members who are mistakenly not contacted or who refuse to provide input in the research
ii. 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
iii. No contacts – potential respondents in the sense that they are members of the sampling frame but who do not receive the request to participate in the research
iv. Refusals – people who are unwilling to participate in a research project
v. 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
c. Response bias – a bias that occurs when respondents either consciously or unconsciously answer questions with a certain slant that misrepresents the truth
i. Deliberate falsification
ii. Unconscious misrepresentation
d. Types of Response Bias
i. Acquiescence bias – tendency for a respondent to maintain a consistent response style often tending to try to go along and agree with the viewpoint of a survey
ii. Extremity bias – a category of response bias that results because some individuals tend to use extremes when responding to questions
iii. Interviewer bias – a response bias that occurs because the presence of the interviewer influences respondents’ answers
iv. Social desirability bias – bias in responses caused by respondents’ desire, either conscious or unconscious, to gain prestige or appear in a different social role
6. Administrative error – an error caused by the improper administration or execution of the research task
a. Data processing error – a category of administrative error that occurs because of incorrect data entry, incorrect computer programming, or other procedural errors during data analysis
b. Sample selection error – an administrative error caused by improper sample design or sampling procedure execution
c. Interviewer error – mistakes made by interviewers failing to record survey responses correctly
d. Interviewer cheating – the practice of filling in fake answers or falsifying questionnaires while working as an interviewer
B. What Can Be Done to Reduce Survey Error?
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A. Interactive Survey Approaches
1. Communication that allows spontaneous two-way interaction between the interviewer and the respondent
B. Noninteractive Media
1. Two-way communication by which respondents give answers to static questions that do not allow a dynamic dialog
A. Personal interview – interactive face-to-face communication in which an interviewer asks a respondent to answer questions
B. Advantages of Personal Interviews
1. Opportunity for Feedback
2. Probing Complex Answers
3. Length of Interview
4. Completeness of Questionnaire
a. Item nonresponse – failure of a respondent to provide an answer to a survey question
5. Props and Visual Aids
6. High Participation Rate
C. Disadvantages of Personal Interviews
1. Interviewer Influence
2. Lack of anonymity of respondent
3. Cost
D. Mall Intercepts
1. Personal interviews conducted in a shopping center or similar public area
2. Door-to-Door Interviews
a. Personal interviews conducted at respondents’ doorsteps in an effort to increase the participation rate in the survey
3. Callbacks
a. Attempts to try and contact those sample members missed in the initial attempt
b. CATI – acronym for computer-assisted telephone interviews where a computer routine automatically selects numbers from a sampling frame, schedules calls and callbacks
E. Global Considerations
1. Marketing researchers recognize that the manner of conducting and the receptiveness to personal interview varies dramatically around the world.
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2. Telephone interviews
a. Landline phones
i. No-Call legislation
(a) Marketers cannot call phone numbers listed on the do-not-call registry.
(b) Robocalls – a phone call conducted by an autodialer and using recorded voice message system
ii. Ownership
(a) Coverage bias – misrepresentation of a population by survey results that disproportionately represent one group over another
b. Mobile Phones
i. In the United States, telemarketing toward mobile phone numbers is prohibited unless the user opts in.
ii. The area codes for mobile phones are not necessarily geographic. For instance, a person who moves from Georgia to Washington can choose to keep the old phone number. As a result, a researcher conducting a voice call survey may be unable to determine whether a respondent fits into the desired geographic sampling population.
iii. The phones have varying abilities for automated responses and differing keypads. Some requests, such as “hit pound sign,” may be more difficult to do on some keypads than on others.
F. Phone Interview Characteristics
1. Random Digit Dialing
a. Use of telephone exchanges and random numbers to develop a sample of respondents in a landline phone survey
2. Landline versus Mobile Phone Results
a. Mobile phones are less like to be shared
b. Calls to mobile phone numbers are more likely to be answered
c. Calls to mobile phones are less likely to be answered on weekends
d. Refusals are higher in calls to mobile phones
e. Calls to respondents of mobile phones should be duly compensated and calls should be kept shorter
f. Mobile phone users are different demographically
g. Mobile phone users own different types of durable goods
3. Speed
4. Cost
5. Absence of Face-to-Face Contact
6. Cooperation
7. Incentives to Respond
8. Lack of Visual Medium
G. Central Location Interviewing
1. Telephone interviews conducted from a central location, allowing firms to hire a staff of professional interviewers and to supervise and control the quality of interviewing more effectively
H. Global Considerations
1. Different cultures often have different norms about proper telephone behavior.
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A. Self-Administered Questionnaires
1. Surveys in which the respondent takes the responsibility for reading and answering the questions without having them stated orally by an interviewer
B. Mail Questionnaires
1. Mail survey – a self-administered questionnaire sent to respondents through the mail
a. Geographic Flexibility
b. Cost
c. Respondent Convenience
d. Respondent Anonymity
e. Absence of Interviewer
f. Standardized Questions
g. Time is Money
h. Length of Mail Questionnaire
C. Response Rates
1. Response rate – the number of questionnaires returned and completed divided by the number of sample members provided a chance to participate in the survey
D. Increasing response Rates for Mail Surveys
1. Cover letter
a. Letter that accompanies a questionnaire to induce the reader to complete and return the questionnaire
2. Incentives Help
3. Advance Notification
4. Survey Sponsorship
5. Keying Mail Questionnaires with Codes
E. Self-administered questionnaires using other forms of distribution
1. 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
F. E-Mail Surveys
1. Survey requests distributed through electronic mail
2. Using E-Mail
a. Include in the body of an email
b. Include as attachment
c. Include a hyperlink to a web-based questionnaire
3. Sampling and E-mail
a. Most people can be sampled via e-mail.
4. Advantages and Disadvantages of E-mail
a. Advantages
i. Speed
ii. Lower costs
iii. Faster turnaround time
iv. More flexibility
v. Less manual processing
vi. Candid responses
b. Disadvantages
i. Sometimes can have lack of anonymity
ii. Spam filters
iii. Problems associated with successful delivery
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1. A self-administered survey administered using a Web-based questionnaire
a. Speed and Cost Effectiveness
b. Visual Appeal and Interactivity
c. Respondent Participation and Cooperation
i. Crowdsourcing – inviting many, many people to participate in a project via the Internet and/or social networks so that even a small percentage of completers can generate a usable sample
d. Accurate Real-Time Data Capture
e. Callbacks
f. Personalized and Flexible Questioning
g. Respondent Anonymity
h. Improving Response Rates
i. Click through response rate – the portion of potential respondents exposed to a hyperlink to a survey who actually click through to view the questionnaire
i. Response Quality
H. Text-Message Surveys
1. Can only research respondents who have opted in with expressed consent.
I. Choosing an Appropriate Survey Approach
1. Questions to determine the appropriate technique:
a. Is the assistance of the interviewer necessary?
b. Are respondents interested in the issues being investigated?
c. Will cooperation be easily attained?
d. How quickly is the information needed?
e. Will the study require a long and complex questionnaire?
f. How large is the budget?
2. Mixed-mode survey – term used to refer to a survey approach that uses more than one survey medium to reach potential respondents
A. Pretesting – screening procedure that involves a trial run with a group of respondents to iron out fundamental problems in the survey design
A. Participants’ right to privacy
B. The use of deception
C. Respondents’ rights to be informed about the purpose of the research
D. The need for confidentiality
E. The need for honesty in collecting data
F. The need for objectivity in collecting data
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1. What is a survey? Give an example of one that you’ve recently participated in. Find an example of survey results reported in the Wall Street Journal.
A survey represents a way of describing public opinion by collecting primary data through communicating directly with individual sampling units. Surveys provide a snapshot at a given point in time. More precisely, this is a sample survey because the respondents’ opinions presumably represent a sample of the larger target population’s opinion. For consumer-oriented firms, sample surveys represent a primary tool for staying in touch with the population of consumers. Student answers regarding a survey they have participated in and an example survey for the Wall Street Journal will vary.
2. What is self-selection bias? Describe it as a source of total survey error.
Self-selection bias is a problem that frequently plagues self-administered questionnaires, such as a satisfaction card left at the table at a restaurant. It distorts surveys because they overrepresent extreme positions while underrepresenting responses from those who are indifferent.
3. Do surveys tend to gather qualitative or quantitative data? What types of information are commonly measured with surveys?
A survey is defined as a method of collecting primary data based on communication with a representative sample of individuals. Because most survey research is descriptive research, the term survey is most often associated with quantitative findings, but some aspects of surveys may also be qualitative. The type of information gathered in a survey varies considerably depending on its objectives. Typically, surveys attempt to describe what is happening or to learn the response for a particular marketing activity. Identifying characteristics of target markets, measuring consumer attitudes, and describing consumer purchasing patterns are common survey objectives. Questions about product use and desirable features help with product development and advertising messages. Demographic information and information on media exposure might also be collected in the survey to help plan a market segmentation strategy.
4. What potential sources of error listed in Exhibit 7.1 might be associated with the following situations?
a. In an Internet survey of frequent fliers age 50 and older, researchers conclude that price does not play a significant role in airline travel because only 25 percent of the respondents check off price as the most important consideration in determining where and how they travel, whereas 35 percent rate price as being unimportant. Management decides prices can be increased with little loss in business.
There is a potential for response bias due to social desirability, which may be deliberate falsification or unconscious misrepresentation. Furthermore, the frequent fliers, who are likely to be business people who have someone else arrange for travel, may not know the importance of price to the actual decision maker. Thus, potential administration error due to sample selection is another likely source of error.
b. A telephone survey of big city voters finds that most respondents do not like negative political ads that is, advertising by one political candidate that criticizes or exposes secrets about the opponent’s “dirty laundry.” Researchers conclude that negative advertising should not be used.
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There is a potential for an extremity bias, with some responding in the extreme to the researcher’s question. The possibility of unconscious misrepresentation is also an issue. Constituents are primed on a regular basis to have a negative opinion of negative political ads.
c. A survey accessed through Instagram produces results ranking Apple Macbooks as far superior to other PCs for business applications. A retailer decides to reduce inventory of PCs other than Macbooks.
This is most likely a sample selection error. Users of Instagram may not be representative of the total PC market. Therefore, the retailer should be cautious in interpreting the results.
d. Researchers who must conduct a 45-minute personal interview offer $175 to each respondent because they believe that people who will sell their opinions are more typical than someone who will talk to a stranger for free for 45 minutes. Management uses the results to adjust their services offering.
With the addition of such a large incentive for participation, respondents may fall into a social desirability bias or an acquiescence bias, or both. The potential respondents may feel they have to answer the questions based on what they think the interviewer is looking for, in order to earn the money for their participation.
e. A company’s sales representatives are asked what percentage of the time they spend traveling, talking on the telephone, participating in meetings, working on the computer, in training and filling out reports for management. The survey is conducted via the company’s email network. Management concludes that sales reps are not spending enough time performing selling in the field.
A respondent in this typical situation will give an answer to questions about time spent in various activities. However, it is very likely that the respondent has some memory problems and does not know the exact percentages of time spent on each activity. Asked for an answer, in general, the individual will tend to give a generalized answer, reflecting the ideal or expected behavior for situations. This is an example of unconscious misrepresentation.
f. A health insurance company obtains a 75 percent response rate from a sample of college students contacted by mobile phone in a study of attitudes toward life insurance. Survey respondents received a code for a free meal from Canes. The company is concerned that consumers are less interested in life insurance these days.
This could be the result of a sample selection error. College students only represent on portion of the overall consumer market for life insurance, and because they are young, may not be as concerned about life insurance as other demographic groups.
5. A sample of 14-year-old schoolchildren is asked if they have ever smoked a cigarette. The students are asked to respond orally in the presence of other students. What types of error might enter into this process?
A social desirability bias will most likely occur, but perhaps not in the direction one may first assume. Children of this age know they should not smoke, so they may say they do not in the presence of an adult interviewer. However, depending on the peer pressure a student may be facing, he or she may reply “yes” when, in fact, they have never smoked to appear “cool” to the other students. Either way, it is still a social desirability bias at play.
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6. Why is response rate a concern for survey researchers? Are there other issues that should be of greater concern?
Response rates have several important impacts on the validity of survey results. Response rates that are too low may indicate a problem with the survey delivery or design; whereas response rates that are too high may indicate that respondents are complying due to incentives that are coercive. There are several other issues that can be of greater concern. For example, the many sources of error in Exhibit 7.1 should all be taken into account, so that the researcher can approximate the total error in the survey. Even if a response rate is 100%, the results will only be valid if all other sources of error are accounted for.
7. [Ethics Question] A researcher sends out 2,000 questionnaires via e-mail and promises respondents anonymity. Fifty surveys are returned because the e-mail addresses are inaccurate. Of the 1,950 delivered questionnaires, 100 are completed and e-mailed back. However, 40 of these respondents wrote that they did not want to participate in the survey. The researcher indicates the response rate was 5.0 percent. Is this the right thing to do? What concerns might you have about this approach?
The 5% (100/2000 = .05 or 5%) response rate figure is a bit deceptive. Though the chapter did not cover how to report response rates, students should discuss whether not the 40 responses that indicated that they did not want to participate should be included as “responses.” Furthermore, should the 50 undelivered questionnaires be included in the number of questionnaires sent out?
8. Define interactive and noninteractive survey approaches. Why might a researcher choose an interactive survey approach over a noninteractive survey approach?
Interactive survey approaches are those that allow spontaneous two-way interaction between the interviewer and the respondent. These can be either personal or electronic, and they try to capture the dynamic exchange that is possible through face-to-face interviews. Noninteractive survey approaches are those that do not facilitate two-way communications and are thus largely a vehicle by which respondents give answers to static questions. Noninteractive approaches can be the approach in some situations, such as simple opinion polls, awareness studies and even surveys assessing consumer attitudes.
9. Suppose a firm wanted to conduct an interactive survey to predict whether to push marketing efforts aimed at families expecting their first child through Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook efforts. The researcher is considering using a single-mode approach consisting of a telephone survey. Critique this decision and offer suggestions for improvement.
More and more households no longer have landline telephone service, and there are several stringent laws governing the use of marketing phone calls to cell phones, so the researcher’s response rate may be limited in this design. Instead, an interactive survey approach could be employed using the Internet. Or, if the funding for the research is available, face-to-face interviews could be conducted.
10. A publisher offers teenage boys (aged 14–17 years old) one of four best-selling famous rock posters as an incentive for filling out a ten-page mail questionnaire about what makes a good guitar. What are the pros and cons of offering this incentive? Yes or no, should the incentive be offered (explain)?
The major advantage of any incentive is to increase survey response rates. The incentive may stimulate a high rate of return. However, because the incentive may be perceived very favorably by this group of respondents, it is more than just a token of appreciation.
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Some respondents may quickly provide superficial answers to the questionnaire just to receive this substantial incentive. Needless to say, this may cause considerable problems in the data analysis.
11. What do you think should be the maximum length of a self-administered e-mail questionnaire using no financial incentive?
A general rule of thumb on both mail and e-mail surveys is that they should not take more than 12 minutes to complete.
12. A survey researcher reports that “205 usable questionnaires out of 942 questionnaires delivered in our mail survey converts to a 21.7 percent response rate.” What are the subtle implications of this statement?
The first thing a student should mention is that the terms “usable questionnaires” and “delivered questionnaires” need to be clarified. A usable questionnaire may mean that the researcher eliminated, for whatever reason, some questionnaires because they were incomplete, illegible, falsified, etc. The term “delivered questionnaire” indicates that the response rate would be lower than if the total number of questionnaires sent out were used to calculate response rate. Thus, it is possible that some questionnaires were marked “return to sender” but the postal service statement is not exactly clear about what this means.
13. What is do-not-call legislation? What effect has it had on survey research?
According to the do-not-call legislation, marketing researchers cannot solicit information via phone numbers listed on the do-not-call registry. Thus, to the extent that consumers who place their numbers on these lists share something in common, such as a greater desire for privacy, a representative sample of the general population cannot be obtained. Marketers and marketing researchers can obtain the do-not-call lists of phone numbers from the FTC for a fee, but it is worth it because the FTC levies fines on the order of $10,000 per violation (per call).
14. Agree or disagree with this statement: Landline and mobile-phone surveys are essentially the same and can be used in the same situations with the same results.
Mobile phone interviews differ from landline phones most obviously because they are directed toward a mobile (i.e., cell) phone number. However, there are other less obvious distinctions:
• In the U.S., no telemarketing can be directed toward mobile phone numbers by law. Respondents have to “opt-in” before their phone number would be made available for such calls.
• The recipient of a mobile phone call is even more likely to be distracted than the recipient of a home or office call.
• The area codes for mobile phones are not necessarily tied to geography, so a researcher may be unable to determine whether or not a respondent fits into the desired geographic sampling population simply by taking note of the areas code.
• The phones have varying abilities for automated responses and differing keypads. Also, results from landline and mobile phones will differ due to the following reasons:
• Calls to mobile phone numbers are more likely to result in someone answering the phone on weekdays during working hours.
• Calls to mobile phone numbers are less likely to result in someone answering the phone on weekends.
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• Refusals are higher for calls to mobile phone numbers.
• Mobile phone users should be duly compensated for their responses given the potential costs involved and the calls should be kept to a short duration due to the user being more likely in a situation involving attention to some other activity.
15. What are the advantages and disadvantages of e-mail surveys? What are situations when they may not be appropriate?
The benefits of incorporating a questionnaire in an e-mail include the speed of distribution, lower distribution and processing costs, faster turnaround time, more flexibility, and less handling of paper questionnaires. Some researchers also believe that respondents are more candid in e-mail than in person or on the telephone. One potential disadvantage is that not all e-mail systems have the same capacity some handle color and graphics well; others are limited to text.
16. What is a click-through rate? How is it relevant to e-mail surveys?
The click-through rate is the portion of potential respondents exposed to a survey hyperlink who actually click through to view that questionnaire. This is relevant to e-mail surveys because it affects the response rate. Only those individuals who “click through” to view and complete the survey are “respondents.”
17. What is the difference between an e-mail and an Internet survey?
An e-mail survey is one that is delivered to a potential respondent’s email address. It can be included in the body of the email or as an attachment. An Internet survey is one that is completed online, through a website. A potential respondent can either click a link that was emailed, or he or she can find the survey online through social media or other Internet sites.
18. Evaluate the following survey designs:
a. A text-message survey asking the potential respondent to indicate with yes or no responses whether they are driving or not, whether they are alone, whether they believe the roads in their area can adequately handle traffic, whether more money should be devoted to better roadways, whether or not traffic is adequately policed, and whether or not automatic cameras should be used to issue speeding tickets. The sample is drawn from people who have agreed to be contacted via mobile phone regarding their new Subaru purchase.
The sample drawn from Subaru owners may not be representative of the population of interest in the research. The first question about whether they are driving or not is troublesome Many municipalities have banned the use of cellphones completely while driving. Also, these respondents have agreed to be called about their new Subaru, and these questions do not relate to that purchase.
b. A shopping mall that wishes to evaluate its image places packets including a questionnaire, cover letter, and stamped return envelope in the mall where customers can pick them up if they wish.
This self-administered questionnaire is an inexpensive way of surveying shoppers. However, selfselection bias is likely to be high. Only those people who come into the mall will pick up the questionnaire. Are there any distinguishing characteristics of shoppers that visit the mall, which might affect the survey results? It should be determined whether those who fill out the selfadministered questionnaire differ from those who do not.
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c. An e-mail message is sent asking respondents to complete a questionnaire on a website. Respondents answer the questions and then have the opportunity to play a slot-machine game on the website. Each respondent is guaranteed a monetary incentive but has the option to increase it by repeatedly playing the slot-machine game.
This technique has the advantages of other computer interactive techniques; that is, skip patterns can be imbedded into questionnaires on the Web site and automatically followed when respondents make certain answers to prior questions. The program can also incorporate the respondent’s own vocabulary into subsequent questions. However, it has the major disadvantages of all self-administered questionnaires that are “sent” to a sample of people who have not agreed to cooperate in advance. Thus, there is a potential for a low response rate. Further, it can only be used by people who have personal computers. The sample is likely to be biased unless the subject is highly relevant to users of the Internet. The slot-machine game is an atypical incentive. In many situations, the respondent’s motivation for returning a questionnaire may be increased by offering monetary incentives or premiums. Monetary incentives appear to be the most effective and least biasing incentive. Although money may be useful to all respondents, its primary advantage may be as a way to attract attention and create a sense of obligation. So using the gambling incentive may not be highly motivating.
d. A mall-intercept interviewing service is located in a regional shopping center. The facility contains a small room for television and movie presentations. Shoppers are used as sampling units to evaluate television commercials. However, mall-intercept interviewers recruit additional subjects for television commercial experiments by offering them several complimentary tickets for special sneak previews of movies. Individuals contacted at the mall are allowed to bring up to five guests. In some cases, respondents try to sell their complimentary tickets through Facebook and Craig’s List posts.
This type of facility is extremely advantageous for television commercial tests, taste tests of new foods, and other research activities that require props and materials that are difficult to transport from house to house. Products may be demonstrated, then placed with target consumers for home use. Rather than having people come to a “downtown” advertising agency or research agency office for an interview, the shopping center facility is more in line with most consumers’ lifestyle patterns.
The major disadvantage of the research store concept is related to the representative nature of the sample. People who shop at a particular shopping center are clearly self-selected. Thus, it is important that the shopping center where a research store is located have a high geographic and demographic dispersion of the population. Quota sampling is often utilized to minimize this problem. “Interviewing” in several stores (within the mall) representing various community economical levels may help control the sample. It should also be noted that not all research is suited to shopping malls. Intercepting someone in a shopping mall for a long, complex interview may not be appropriate. Many respondents may tire of the long interview and respond with “let’s get this over with” answers.
e. Time magazine opts to conduct a mobile-phone survey rather than mail survey for a study to determine the demographic characteristics and purchasing behavior of its subscribers in the United Kingdom, France and the United States.
This may be effective given the fact that these countries do not restrict contacting mobile phone numbers. However, respondents are more likely to be distracted during a mobile-phone survey compared to a mail survey. A mobile-phone survey will provide very fast data collection, whereas a mail survey would be slow.
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19. Under what conditions might someone conducting a mail survey use an overnight courier to send questionnaires to sampling units?
When the researcher fears a low response rate, as typically occurs when the sample consists of professional workers such as physicians or consultants, an express courier service like FedEx is a better, but more expensive, option. When researchers are concerned that the questionnaire actually gets delivered to the designated recipient, the courier (or postal agent) will obtain a certified return receipt.
20. What type of survey approach is most likely to yield the highest response rate? What approach(es) will yield the lowest response rate? What can be done to improve response rates in e-mail and Internet surveys?
Door-to-door personal interviews have the best respondent cooperation, but it may be difficult for interviewers to reach people at home, or potential respondents are not willing to answer the door. Mall intercept personal interviews have low response rates due to shoppers being too busy to participate. Personalized invitations may improve response rates in e-mail and Internet surveys. Basically, the methods for improving response rates for an Internet survey are similar to those for other kinds of survey research, such as monetary incentives, interesting questions, follow-ups, and advance notification.
21. [Ethics Question] Comment on the ethics of the following situations:
a. A researcher plans to use invisible ink to code questionnaires to identify respondents in a mail survey designed to get honest opinions from people who have filed to run for political office. The code will allow their identities to be known by the researcher.
Students’ opinions will vary, but they should realize that the purpose of coding questionnaires is primarily to avoid sending duplicate follow-up questionnaires to participants who have already responded. Using an invisible ink for the purposes of identifying respondents is unethical.
b. A political action committee conducts a survey about its particular cause. At the end of the questionnaire, it includes a request for a donation.
The marketing research community is absolutely against this type of action. The purpose of a survey is research and to ask for a donation is an abuse of marketing research. Many organizations have used the “ploy” of a survey to solicit donations. Many have not thought of the damage this does to the marketing research industry.
c. A telephone interviewer calls at 1 P M on Sunday and asks the person who answers the phone to take part in an interview.
Most marketing research companies do not call respondents when they will be disturbed or upset. Many citizens consider Sunday a day of rest and a day to practice religious beliefs. A basic ethical consideration is to consider the rights and obligations of the other parties in the survey situation.
d. An industrial marketer wishes to survey its own distributors. It invents the name “Mountain States Marketing Research” and sends out an e-mail questionnaire under this name.
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Like most ethical issues, this tactic is subject to debate. Those favoring this practice suggest that it is not possible to gain truthful information using the company’s own letterhead. To avoid sponsorship bias, the fictitious letterhead should be used. Others feel that it is deceptive to create a fictitious company.
22. [Ethics Question] How might the marketing research industry take action to ensure that the public believes that landline phone surveys and door-to-door interviews are legitimate activities and that firms that misrepresent and deceive the public using marketing research as a sales ploy are not true marketing researchers?
A company that engages in this practice risks alienating the general public who is unable to differentiate between marketing research and telemarketing. Telephone researchers should emphasize to the respondents that no element of selling is involved. Researchers should also inform respondents about why and how their numbers are selected. In other words, researchers should let it clearly be known that research not sales is being conducted.
23. Go to the Pew Internet and American Life page at http://www.pewinternet.org. Several reports based on survey research will be listed. Select one of the reports. What were the research objectives? What were the first three questions on the survey?
Answers to this will depend on the date and survey the student selects. However, students may find it difficult to find the surveys that were used to collect the data for the reports. However, students can click on “Take Our Poll” to see survey questions.
1. Ask a small sample of students at your local university to report their GPA. Then, try to find the average GPA of students at your school. If you have to, ask several professors to give their opinion. Does it seem that the student data are subject to error? Explain.
Student answers will vary, depending on the university they attend and the number of students they ask.
2. Look for opportunities to participate in surveys online. Is the sponsor identified and if so, how might it influence responses? Comment on the surveys with respect to their ability to deliver error free data to the sponsor.
Student answers will vary. Various surveys online may identify who sponsored the survey, but some will not. In general, the student should answer with a demonstration of critical analysis and thinking skills.
Objective: To appreciate how survey research can be used to develop products and services that meet customers’ needs.
Summary: The SAT and ACT college entrance exams once were completely multiple-choice, but both tests recently began including an essay portion (which is optional for the ACT). One survey suggests that some admission officers harbor doubts about the essay tests.
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Research conducted by ACT, Inc. reported that among schools it surveyed, only about one-fifth require the writing portion of the exam, and another one-fifth merely recommend the essay. Kaplan, Inc., which markets test preparation services, asked colleges whether they would be using the SAT writing test to screen candidates, and 47 percent said they would not use it, and another 22 percent said they would use it but give it less weight. Kaplan also surveys students and says on its Web site that “More than 25% of students run out of time on the essay!”
Questions:
1. What survey objectives would ACT have in asking colleges how they use its essay test? What objectives would Kaplan have for its survey research?
ACT, Inc. would be interested in learning if colleges will actually use the results of the essay in making acceptance decisions. If schools are not using it, then ACT, Inc. might decide against including it as a part of the exam. Kaplan would also like to know if schools are using the essay test in making acceptance decisions, because if they are, Kaplan’s customers (i.e., students) will need to include this as part of is test preparation services.
2. If you a marketer for the College Board (the SAT’s company) or ACT, Inc., what further information would you want to gather after receiving the results described here?
They would probably want to know if colleges would be increasing its use of the essay test in the future.
3. What sources of error or response bias might be present in the surveys described here?
The reported use of the essay test might be higher than it actually is due to acquiescence bias and social desirability bias.
Objective: To encourage students to think about the advantages and disadvantages of Internet surveys and telephone interviews as well as to gain an understanding of the Do Not Call Registry law.
Summary: Congress passed a law setting up a National Do Not Call Registry. By law, salespeople cannot call numbers listed on this registry, but charities and researchers can still call these numbers. However, a recent Internet survey showed that less than 25 percent of respondents knew that researchers “are allowed to call,” and over half (63 percent) weren’t sure about researchers’ rights under the law.
Questions:
1. Was an online survey the best medium for a poll on this subject? What were some pros and cons of conducting this poll online?
Internet surveys offer the advantages of speed and cost effectiveness, visual appeal and interactivity, respondent participation and cooperation, accurate real-time data capture, callbacks (if part of a panel), personalized and flexible questioning, respondent anonymity, and similar response rates to other kinds of survey research. It appears in this instance that speed and cost
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effectiveness are the most important advantages relevant in this survey. However, the sample may not be representative because not all consumers have access to the Internet, and security concerns could be an issue if hackers can tamper with the survey.
2. How might the results have differed if this poll had been conducted by telephone?
One difference is that perhaps fewer consumers would have participated. Response rates for telephone interviews have fallen due to technological devices that allow consumers to screen calls. Plus, 75 percent of the respondents said they had signed up for the registry, so they would probably not participate in the study if contacted by telephone.
3. As a researcher, how would you address people’s doubts about whether pollsters may contact households listed on the Do Not Call Registry?
It appears than an educational effort is necessary on the part of the industry.
4. What means should be used to obtain a high response rate?
The answer to this question will, of course, depend on which particular technique is chosen. However, this question provides a springboard to discuss how to increase response rates to personal interviews, telephone surveys and mail surveys.
If a personal interview is chosen, the fact that the interviewer is actually going door-to-door is the main means to bring about a higher response rate. Callbacks will be important in both personal interviews and telephone interviews.
Probably more important, however, is to use some appeal to indicate that this research will benefit the consumer in the long run. Saying, “Your opinions count. We’re trying to build new products for handicapped individuals,” may increase response rate. However, on the other side of the coin, this is likely to induce some potential social desirability bias.
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