How to Carry Out Surveys for Research Effectively? Discover All Essential Tricks and Strategies for Best Survey Results!

Abstract:

Survey Research is a quantitative research method used for collecting data from a set of respondents. It has been perhaps one of the most used methodologies in the industry for several years due to the multiple benefits and advantages that it has when collecting and analyzing data.

Keywords : Survey, Research, Questionnaire, Methods, Benefits

After undergoing this article you will be able to understand the following

1. What's survey for research ?

2. Why survey is important?

3. What are the methods of survey?

4. What's the process of survey and how to conduct it?

5. How to develop good Questionnaire?

6. What's the type of questionnaire?

7. How to collect and control Data collection?

8. What are the methods of results analysis?

9. How to interpret the data?

10. What are the advantages and disadvantages of survey for research ? 

11. Conclusions: How to put final thoughts in result?

1. What's survey for research ?

Survey research is one of the primary data collection methods. It involves asking a group of people for their opinions on a topic.

Survey research can help marketers obtain valuable insights about customers, including their attitudes, preferences, and buying behaviour.

2. Why survey is important?

Surveys provide researchers with reliable, usable, primary data to inform business decisions. 

They are important because the data comes directly from the individuals you have identified in your goal. And surveys give you a detailed, systematic way to view and analyze your data. 

For example, suppose your goal is to find out what your customers want from your brand. In that case, a survey is the method of research that allows you to ask customers your questions directly, collect their answers, and use the data to decide what features or products you’ll provide in response.

Understand respondent behavior

A well-crafted survey will provide you with insights into your stated goal—both positive and negative. It’s imperative that you make it known that all survey results are confidential so that respondents will feel confident being completely honest with their feedback, opinions, and comments. This is especially important when asking explicit questions or when employers ask for feedback from employees.

Create a medium for discussion

Your survey can provide a platform for respondents to present kudos or criticisms, which can be used for later discussion and planning.

Gather feedback for improvements

Use the feedback you receive to inform plans for product improvements and features, workplace changes, and other business decisions. Once you’ve acted on the feedback with improvements, send out another survey to see how they were received and track what still needs work.

3. What are the methods of survey?

The Survey Research Methods are the following

Online/ Email: 

Online survey research is one of the most popular survey research methods today. The cost involved in online survey research is extremely minimal, and the responses gathered are highly accurate.

Phone: 

Survey research conducted over the telephone (CATI survey) can be useful in collecting data from a more extensive section of the target population. There are chances that the money invested in phone surveys will be higher than other mediums, and the time required will be higher.

Face-to-face: 

Researchers conduct face-to-face in-depth interviews in situations where there is a complicated problem to solve. The response rate for this method is the highest, but it can be costly.

Further, based on the time taken, survey research can be classified into two methods:

Longitudinal survey research: Longitudinal survey research involves conducting survey research over a continuum of time and spread across years and decades. 

The data collected using this survey research method from one time period to another is qualitative or quantitative. Respondent behavior, preferences, and attitudes are continuously observed over time to analyze reasons for a change in behavior or preferences. 

For example, suppose a researcher intends to learn about the eating habits of teenagers. 

4. What's the process of survey and how to conduct it?

The following are simple steps for Conducting Survey Research

1. Identify the audience. The research done before conducting a survey is crucial to the survey’s success. If you’re trying to sell a product to the wrong audience or not asking the right questions, you won’t get the results you need. If you have a specific audience in mind, the survey can be tailored to get the answers you need to know. It’s also important to look for surveys that have previously been done and are similar to the one you’re pursuing so you can be unique and provide an interesting angle for a reporter that may cover your data.
2. Find a survey provider. Surveys are a useful tool that can be relatively inexpensive, depending on what you want to accomplish and the provider you choose. At Walker Sands, we use a combination of survey providers, depending on what’s best for our client. Survey Monkey is a very cost-efficient, general provider. Forrester Research is more credible, but is also much more expensive. Likewise, a general audience is less expensive than gearing a survey toward IT managers at Fortune 500 companies. We can help tailor your survey to get the results you want with a provider you can afford.
3. Conduct the survey. When it comes to the length of a survey, short and sweet is best. Be sure to exhaust every possible choice to the question you’re asking to get the most rewarding results. The moment you send your survey also impacts the results. If you send a survey to IT managers at 9 p.m. on Sunday, they’re less likely to respond after the flood of emails Monday morning. Send it another day of the week during business hours to generate more responses.
4. Create context for the survey. You have the data, now what should you do with it? It’s important to have target publications in mind before you conduct the survey. Where do you want your results to be published? Who do you want to share them with? It also helps to compile the data into a chart or infographic. That makes the reporter’s job easier and increases the likelihood that they will use your data in their publication.
5. Evaluate your research. Case studies allow you to revisit the efficiency of a survey. Did it solve the problem proposed at the beginning of the survey? Is it detailed enough to make an impression on the industry? When you answer these questions, you can track how often your research is shared and where. This allows you to improve how you conduct future surveys, change your message or even start over with a completely new survey.

To conduct an effective survey, follow these six steps:

1. Determine who will participate in the survey.

2. Decide the type of survey (mail, online, or in-person)

3. Design the survey questions and layout.

4. Distribute the survey.

5. Analyze the responses.

6. Write up the results.

5. How to develop good Questionnaire?

Here are some best practice tips to consider when you're creating a questionnaire:

1. Figure out what information you want (and need!)

When creating a questionnaire, they may seem like the ideal place to learn every single thing that's on your mind, resist the temptation. Instead, focus on a handful of key points that you'd like to learn and tailor your questionnaire around them.

2. Keep your questions simple and consistently written

One of the biggest reasons why people fail to complete a questionnaire is that the questions are jumbled, confusing and pointless. Try to write your questions in the same, professional manner all the way through.

3. Use only one or two answer methods, like fill-ins and check boxes

Creating a questionnaire that is easy to fill out will increase your completion rate. Stick to one or two different answer methods throughout your questionnaire. However, this doesn't apply to personal information or feedback boxes that require the survey-takers to write in their answers.

4. Create your questionnaire so it takes 5 minutes or less to complete

When creating a questionnaire, long and boring questions are an immediate turn off. If your survey-takers see they have only completed, say, 20% of the survey and it took them a long time to do it, then they'll just stop. Again, keep in mind you don't need to cram every question into one survey.

5. Offer your customers a reason to answer your questionnaire

Whether it's a promotional discount, free gift, or access to the survey results, give your survey-takers a reason to participate in your questionnaire. As an added bonus: you may actually have even more people complete your survey than you expect. The more people you have answering your questions, the more accurate your results will be.

6. Keep personal information optional

Though demographic information is considered the Holy Grail of online surveys, it's best that you leave those questions as optional. People, in general, are squeamish when it comes to unloading their home address, phone number, and how much money they make to strangers, especially on the Internet.

6. What's the type of questionnaire?

There are two main types of questionnaires and the one you’ll use depends on what kind of information you want and purpose of that information.

1. Exploratory questionnaire (qualitative)

These are also known as unstructured questionnaires. They’re used to collect qualitative data which is information that can be observed and recorded but isn’t numerical in nature. It’s used to approximate and characterize.

An example of qualitative data would be someone giving your feedback about your writing. They may mention things about the tone, clarity, word choice, etc. it helps you categorize your writing but you can’t attach a number to the feedback.

In the realm of content creation, the quest for the best writing apps becomes an essential journey. Just as perplexity and burstiness define human expression, these apps offer writers a palette of tools to navigate complexity and embrace stylistic variation. Exploring a range of options allows writers to balance intricately crafted sentences with bursts of concise brilliance.

Exploratory questionnaires are ideal when you’re in the early stages and want to learn more about a topic before designing a solution or hypothesis. For example, if you’re in the early stages of product development and don’t know enough about the market then exploratory questionnaires are ideal.

2. Formal standardized questionnaire (quantitative)

They’re also known as structured questionnaires. These ones are used to collect quantitative data which is information recorded as a count or numerical value.

The data is quantifiable which means it can be used for mathematical calculations or statistical analysis. In essence, it answers the question of how much, how many, or how often.

7. How to collect and control Data?

The process of gathering and analyzing accurate data from various sources to find answers to research problems, trends and probabilities, etc., to evaluate possible outcomes is Known as Data Collection. Knowledge is power, information is knowledge, and data is information in digitized form, at least as defined in IT. Hence, data is power. But before you can leverage that data into a successful strategy for your organization or business, you need to gather it. That’s your first step.

Primary and secondary methods of data collection are two approaches used to gather information for research or analysis purposes. Let's explore each method in detail:

1. Primary Data Collection:

Primary data collection involves the collection of original data directly from the source or through direct interaction with the respondents. This method allows researchers to obtain firsthand information specifically tailored to their research objectives. There are various techniques for primary data collection, including:

a. Surveys and Questionnaires: Researchers design structured questionnaires or surveys to collect data from individuals or groups. These can be conducted through face-to-face interviews, telephone calls, mail, or online platforms.

b. Interviews: Interviews involve direct interaction between the researcher and the respondent. They can be conducted in person, over the phone, or through video conferencing. Interviews can be structured (with predefined questions), semi-structured (allowing flexibility), or unstructured (more conversational).

c. Observations: Researchers observe and record behaviors, actions, or events in their natural setting. This method is useful for gathering data on human behavior, interactions, or phenomena without direct intervention.

d. Experiments: Experimental studies involve the manipulation of variables to observe their impact on the outcome. Researchers control the conditions and collect data to draw conclusions about cause-and-effect relationships.

e. Focus Groups: Focus groups bring together a small group of individuals who discuss specific topics in a moderated setting. This method helps in understanding opinions, perceptions, and experiences shared by the participants.

2. Secondary Data Collection:

Secondary data collection involves using existing data collected by someone else for a purpose different from the original intent. Researchers analyze and interpret this data to extract relevant information. Secondary data can be obtained from various sources, including:

a. Published Sources: Researchers refer to books, academic journals, magazines, newspapers, government reports, and other published materials that contain relevant data.

b. Online Databases: Numerous online databases provide access to a wide range of secondary data, such as research articles, statistical information, economic data, and social surveys.

c. Government and Institutional Records: Government agencies, research institutions, and organizations often maintain databases or records that can be used for research purposes.

d. Publicly Available Data: Data shared by individuals, organizations, or communities on public platforms, websites, or social media can be accessed and utilized for research.

e. Past Research Studies: Previous research studies and their findings can serve as valuable secondary data sources. Researchers can review and analyze the data to gain insights or build upon existing knowledge.

8. What are the methods of results analysis?

Starting with the category of descriptive up to prescriptive analysis, the complexity and effort of data evaluation increases, but also the added value for the company.

a) Descriptive analysis - What happened.

The descriptive analysis method is the starting point for any analytic reflection, and it aims to answer the question of what happened? It does this by ordering, manipulating, and interpreting raw data from various sources to turn it into valuable insights for your organization.

Performing descriptive analysis is essential, as it enables us to present our insights in a meaningful way. Although it is relevant to mention that this analysis on its own will not allow you to predict future outcomes or tell you the answer to questions like why something happened, it will leave your data organized and ready to conduct further investigations.

b) Exploratory analysis - How to explore data relationships.

As its name suggests, the main aim of the exploratory analysis is to explore. Prior to it, there is still no notion of the relationship between the data and the variables. Once the data is investigated, exploratory analysis helps you to find connections and generate hypotheses and solutions for specific problems. A typical area of application for it is data mining.

c) Diagnostic analysis - Why it happened.

Diagnostic data analytics empowers analysts and executives by helping them gain a firm contextual understanding of why something happened. If you know why something happened as well as how it happened, you will be able to pinpoint the exact ways of tackling the issue or challenge.

Designed to provide direct and actionable answers to specific questions, this is one of the world’s most important methods in research, among its other key organizational functions such as retail analytics, e.g.

c) Predictive analysis - What will happen.

The predictive method allows you to look into the future to answer the question: what will happen? In order to do this, it uses the results of the previously mentioned descriptive, exploratory, and diagnostic analysis, in addition to machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI). Through this, you can uncover future trends, potential problems or inefficiencies, connections, and casualties in your data.

With predictive analysis, you can unfold and develop initiatives that will not only enhance your various operational processes but also help you gain an all-important edge over the competition. If you understand why a trend, pattern, or event happened through data, you will be able to develop an informed projection of how things may unfold in particular areas of the business.

e) Prescriptive analysis - How will it happen.

Another of the most effective types of analysis methods in research. Prescriptive data techniques cross over from predictive analysis in the way that it revolves around using patterns or trends to develop responsive, practical business strategies.

By drilling down into prescriptive analysis, you will play an active role in the data consumption process by taking well-arranged sets of visual data and using it as a powerful fix to emerging issues in a number of key areas, including marketing, sales, customer experience, HR, fulfillment, finance, logistics analytics, and others.

9. How to interpret the data?

Here are some steps to interpreting data correctly.

Gather the data

The very first step in data interpretation is gathering all relevant data. You can do this by first visualizing it in a bar, graph, or pie chart. This step aims to analyze the data accurately and without bias. Now is the time to recall how you conducted your research.

Here are two question patterns that will help you to understand better.

Were there any flaws or changes that occurred during the data collection process?

Have you saved any observatory notes or indicators?

You can proceed to the next stage when you have all of your data.

Develop your discoveries

This is a summary of your findings. Here, you thoroughly examine the data to identify trends, patterns, or behavior. If you are researching a group of people using a sample population, this is the section where you examine behavioral patterns. You can compare these deductions to previous data sets, similar data sets, or general hypotheses in your industry. This step’s goal is to compare these deductions before drawing any conclusions.

Draw Conclusions

After you’ve developed your findings from your data sets, you can draw conclusions based on your discovered trends. Your findings should address the questions that prompted your research. If they do not respond, inquire about why; it may produce additional research or questions.

10. What are the advantages and disadvantages of survey for research ?

Advantages

• Relatively easy to administer
• Can be developed in less time (compared to other data-collection methods)
• Cost-effective, but cost depends on survey mode
• Can be administered remotely via online, mobile devices, mail, email, kiosk, or telephone.
• Conducted remotely can reduce or prevent geographical dependence
• Capable of collecting data from a large number of respondents
• Numerous questions can be asked about a subject, giving extensive flexibility in data analysis
• With survey software, advanced statistical techniques can be utilized to analyze survey data to determine validity, reliability, and statistical significance, including the ability to analyze multiple variables
• A broad range of data can be collected (e.g., attitudes, opinions, beliefs, values, behavior, factual).
• Standardized surveys are relatively free from several types of errors

Disadvantages

The reliability of survey data may depend on the following factors:

• Respondents may not feel encouraged to provide accurate, honest answers
• Respondents may not feel comfortable providing answers that present themselves in a unfavorable manner.
• Respondents may not be fully aware of their reasons for any given answer because of lack of memory on the subject, or even boredom.
• Surveys with closed-ended questions may have a lower validity rate than other question types.
• Data errors due to question non-responses may exist. The number of respondents who choose to respond to a survey question may be different from those who chose not to respond, thus creating bias.
• Survey question answer options could lead to unclear data because certain answer options may be interpreted differently by respondents. For example, the answer option “somewhat agree” may represent different things to different subjects, and have its own meaning to each individual respondent.  ‘Yes’ or ‘no’ answer options can also be problematic. Respondents may answer “no” if the option “only once” is not available.
• Customized survey can run the risk of containing certain types of errors

11. Conclusions: How to put final thoughts in result?

Here are some strategies that can help you write an effective conclusion for your survey:

1. Focus On Satisfying Your Survey Goal

The conclusion must answer the queries presented by your survey goals and objectives. In writing the conclusion, your mind must be set on fulfilling the very purpose of conducting the survey. With the survey goal in mind, you will be able to avoid common mistakes such as adding new information that were not previously stated earlier in the survey, or worse, creating a new thesis.

2. Make a Synthesis, not a Summary

Oftentimes, the conclusion is mistaken as the summary of the survey report. Although it contains the vital points of the survey, the conclusion must be a synthesis of the survey results, the interpretation of such, and the proposal of a course of action or solution to the issues that emerged from the survey.

3. Use an Academic Tone in Writing the Conclusion

Surveys are performed for scientific or marketing purposes, thus, they must be written using a professional and academic style. With this in mind, the tone of the conclusion should match that of the results and the rest of the data collection process. Doing this will boost the credibility of your survey, rather than adding anecdotes or jokes in hopes of increasing the appeal of the results.

4. Avoid Sentimentality

A conclusion of a survey must not be drawn from emotions in order to make the survey more appealing to the readers. The conclusion must be written in an interesting yet academic manner. Emotional praise is not ideal, but a refined commentary on the subject is acceptable.