Individual : Types of Surveys - Assignment Example

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. For this particular situation, the self-administered questionnaire would be the best method of acquiring the needed information. According to the book entitled “Business Research Statistics,” a self administered questionnaire can be mailed to specific participants and can be filled out at person’s leisure (Cooper-Schindler, 2006).

This is important in a situation like this because questions revolving around a person’s living environment can be personal and any other method might be seen as an intrusion. A self-administered questionnaire allows the person to maintain a semblance of privacy and this will also be helpful in creating more honest answers. It would be important for the business to have prepaid postage in order to further motivate the residents to send the answers back. B) A poll of students at Metro University on their preferences among three candidates who are running for president of the student government.

For this particular situation, a telephone survey would be the best option. This is due to the fact that many young people, such as the ones found on a college campus, have access to phones and regularly use them. Specifically, it should be a computer-administered telephone survey(Cooper-Schindler, 2006). For instance, the person could simply select a 1, 2, or 3 for their candidate. This presents an anonymous and quick method to collect the necessary data. This is important in getting the students to participate as a lengthy survey process can deter people from giving their opinions.

Additionally, the anonymity will be helpful in garnering truthful opinions. A telephone survey is not a discriminating method, so a sufficient sample can be drawn from collecting data in this way. c ) A survey of 58 wholesale grocery companies, scattered over the eastern United States, on their personnel management policies for warehouse personnel. This particular situation would require a personal interview. According to the book entitled “Business Research Methods,” a personal interview is where a “two way conversation” is conducted “between a trained interviewer and a participant”(Cooper-Schindler, 2006).

In the grocery store scenario, information about personnel management policies is being sought. This type of information is not so easily acquired and will differ from place to place. In order to obtain the best data, a personal interview would need to be conducted with the managers of the grocery companies. This allows the interviewer to specifically gear questions for each individual store and their particular policies. 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.

Surveying Fortune 500 officers for their economic outlook predictions would need to be gathered by way of a personal interview. This is due to the fact that the data sought is more subjective and cannot be answered in a simple fashion such as a yes or no. The questions may require follow-up questions which may not be included on a telephone or self administered survey. A personal interview would guarantee that sufficient information is gleaned from the Fortune 500 corporation officers. A personal interview works best for a target situation and subject matter such as an economic outlook like this case entails. 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.

A self-administered questionnaire would work well in this situation. This is due to the fact that the information that is being sought is more generic and the survey can contain the same questions for each specific job or work program. This method will make it easy to capture the information necessary for the study. Questions should be open ended so that the respondents can customize the answers according to different jobs. It can be difficult to get the self administered surveys back, so perhaps the study should set aside money for prepaid postage or perhaps have someone make the rounds to pick up the surveys, so as to take any pressure off of the individuals themselves.

References Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P. S. (2008). Business research methods (10th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin.