Focus Groups or Survey?

This month's column is a quiz. I'll set up some scenarios, you choose which research approach you think is best. At the end, I'll defend why I think my own answers are right!

Sinickas, Angela D. Sinickas Communications (2000). Articles>Research>Methods>Surveys

The Gentle Art of Questionnaire Design  

It is important for us to gain knowledge about our audiences before we start developing our information packages. It is equally important for us to get feedback after we have produced our information so that we know how well it was received by our audiences.

Ridgway, Lenore S. and Roger A. Grice. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Research>Methods>Surveys

Get The Credit You Deserve From Surveys

The wonders of technology have opened up easy-to-use on-line survey creation and analysis. Yet if you take the numbers the surveys provide at face value, you may be under-representing your audience's true responses. The following examples demonstrate how to phrase questions for more accurate results.

Sinickas, Angela D. Sinickas Communications (2002). Articles>Research>Methods>Surveys

Getting the Most Use out of Research Results

All too often companies conduct a survey and do nothing with the results. This problem can be minimized through developing a highly actionable survey in the first place (the topic of this month's column) and making sure that management is committed to acting on the findings (to be covered next month). Here are some suggestions for developing a survey that leads to highly actionable results.

Sinickas, Angela D. Sinickas Communications (1999). Articles>Research>Methods>Surveys

Measurement at the Speed of Business  

Who has time to do communication audits anymore? Only the lucky few. The author shows ways to find out everything you need to know, just as fast as you need to know it.

Sinickas, Angela D. Sinickas Communications (2005). Articles>Research>Methods>Surveys

Researching Internet-Based Populations: Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Survey Research, Online Questionnaire Authoring Software Packages, and Web Survey Services

This article examines some advantages and disadvantages of conducting online survey research. It explores current features, issues, pricing, and limitations associated with products and services, such as online questionnaire features and services to facilitate the online survey process, such as those offered by web survey businesses. The review shows that current online survey products and services can vary considerably in terms of available features, consumer costs, and limitations. It is concluded that online survey researchers should conduct a careful assessment of their research goals, research timeline, and financial situation before choosing a specific product or service.

Wright, Kevin B. JCMC (2005). Articles>Research>Methods>Surveys

Unraveling the Mysteries of Sampling

The number of surveys to send out depends on how many employees you have and what rate of response you are likely to achieve. If you have a relatively small number of employees, you might need to send out surveys to everyone. If you have over several thousand employees, you would need only 500-600 completed surveys to have fairly reliable results for your population as a whole, assuming the respondents accurately reflect the demographics of the entire group. So, if you expect to have a 100% response rate, you would mail out surveys to a random sample of 600. More realistically, if you typically have a response rate of 50%, you'd need to survey 1,200 people (600 divided by 0.5).

Sinickas, Angela D. Sinickas Communications (2001). Articles>Research>Methods>Surveys

Response Rates and Surveying Techniques: Tips to Enhance Survey Respondent Participation  

Sufficient response rates are important for surveys. A survey that collects very little data may not contain substantial information. In order to collect successful responses, researchers must take into consideration the audience, the quantity of online surveys in circulation, and the potential for surveys reported as spam. These factors may result in lower respondent interest and acceptance of survey invitations. But there are ways to increase response rates!

SurveyMonkey (2008). Articles>Research>Methods>Surveys

Smart Survey Design  

This guide provides information on writing successful and effective survey questions, creating survey flow and layout, calculating response rates, tips for increasing response rates, and the pros and cons of online surveys. (Plus an appendix of links and works cited for additional help in survey design.)

SurveyMonkey (2008). Articles>Research>Methods>Surveys

The Mid-Point on a Rating Scale: Is it Desirable?    

This study examined the effect on survey results of having no neutral or mid-point on a Likert scale. Participants in a face-to-face omnibus survey were shown either a five point (with mid -point) or four point (no mid-point) Likert scale of importance on a card and asked to state their opinion about the importance of product labelling (additives, ingredients etc.) on packaged foods. This research provides some evidence that social desirability bias, arising from respondents' desires to please the interviewer or appear helpful or not be seen to give what they perceive to be a socially unacceptable answer, can be minimised by eliminating the mid-point ('neither... nor', uncertain etc.) category from Likert scales. There is also some evidence that the presence or absence of a mid-point on an importance scale produces distortions in the results obtained.

Garland, Ron. Marketing Bulletin (1991). Articles>Research>Methods>Surveys