Survey Designs - Report Example

QNT/561 Allied Business Research and Statistics Connie Johnson December 9, Week 4: Survey Designs 5 In the following situations, decide whetheryou would use a personal interview, telephone survey, or self-administered questionnaire. Give your reasons. a. A survey of the residents of a new subdivision on why they happened to select that area in which to live. You also wish to secure some information about what they like and do not like about life in the subdivision. The determining factor as to what type of survey would be best to use in this scenario is, “Who is requesting the information? Take for instance a home builder or developer of the subdivision curious about the opinions of the residents to determine whether or not to construct additional phrases in the subdivision or the architect/designer of the homes interested in what modifications or suggestions the homeowners may have with regards to the particular style of the home purchased would influence what type of survey to use. In each hypothetical, the information collected would influence future decisions with reference to the location and community and the possible inclusion of additional features in the designs of the houses. In each case, the most effective method would be a personal interview in which a face-to-face conversation would be done in the home or community. The advantages of a personal interview would enable the interviewer to gather more specific information from the homeowner and to physically see the expressions and emotions of the resident. The opportunity to physically interact with the resident in the setting could yield more telling results. Cooper and Schindler (2006) provide numerous advantages and disadvantages to the personal interview such as: higher responses, the ability to specifically select the people in the sample group, as in this survey selecting certain homeowners whose homes are in strategic locations within the community would yield different and revealing information, better control over interview with times being acceptable and convenient to the homeowner making them more willing to share information. They also highlight disadvantages to the personal interview such as: high costs, need for highly trained interviewers, longer period needed in the field collecting data, follow-up is labor-intensive just to name a few (pp. 252-253). b. A poll of students at Metro University on their preferences among three candidates who are running for president of the student government. The sample population creates the possibility of the use of two methods to collect data the first is a self-administered survey design either mailed or provided on campus in a centrally located highly frequented area. Because of the size of the group makes using this method logical, less threatening to the students giving them the flexibility to complete the survey at their leisure and on their own time schedule which would increase the response rate in general. This sampling group somewhat dictate the choice as well. However, in general the disadvantages of this method are that the response rating is low and the data collected may be distorted because it would not be an accurate representation of the population (the students). The second possibility would be a personal interview in which a table would be set up with information on the candidates and the students could stop at their leisure and informally interact with an interviewer along with completing the survey. Using this approach to collecting data the interviewer would have an advantage of collecting more information because of their physical presence and the response rating would more than likely increase because only those student willing to give their opinion would participate. c. A survey of 58 wholesale grocery companies scattered over the eastern United States, on their personnel management policies for warehouse personnel. In this particular scenario, the easiest and most cost effective method would be a mailed self-administered survey. Due to the geographical factor of the stores being scattered over the eastern United States makes this method the most feasible. However the purpose of the survey would be a determining factor as to which method to use to yield the best results. In the case of a possible sale or merger of a company that uses the services of the companies could require a different and more of a personal approach to gather information, or the possibility an industry regulatory agency investigating the management policies pertaining to their personnel would require a face-to-face analogy therefore the personal interview approach would be more effective in gathering data. d. A survey of financial officers of the Fortune 500 corporations to learn their predictions for the economic outlook in their industries in the next year. The question of how many financial officers would be targeted in the study would have significant influence on what type of data collecting method to use. Knowing how many, who is requesting the survey, what purpose(s) the study is being conducted, and where the financial officers are geographically located would also determine which method to use for the highest results yielding the desired information. It all depends and answering the above questions would determine the most effective method to use. However based on the information provided in the question and for the sake of simplicity the telephone interview would be the most effective method to use to collect data. In comparison, a mailed self administered survey could be misplaced, discarded as trash, and easily overlooked and an actual face-to-face interview may prove too costly because of the geographical locations of the financial officers. Whereas the telephone interview may present challenges to effectiveness, in general this particular method would be the most practical and the approach yielding a higher response rating. e. A study of applicant requirements, job tasks, and performance expectations as part of a job analysis of student work-study jobs on a college campus of 2,000 students, where 1,500 are involved in the work-study program. The use of a web-administered survey in this particular scenario would probably be the best choice. Taking into consideration the fact that the sample population is a modest group of college students and a significant percentage of the sample group are already involved in the work-study program indicates the majority of the students are computer and internet savvy. The selection of a web survey design would be easier for the data collection agency, the possibility of getting a higher return increases and anonymity also is maintained for the students that may not want their identity known. However, web surveys present their own set of disadvantages as well such as technological expertise is required for designing a web survey instrument along with the costs involved in converting the data once collected from the surveys submitted online, and one of the most important challenges is creating the right type of instrument that asks the right questions to yield the desired information are just a few of the drawbacks to this choice of data collection designs (Cooper & Schindler, 2006, pp. 255-257). Reference: Cooper, D. R. & Schindler, P. S. (2006). Business Research Methods, 9th Ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin Companies, Inc. Read More