Blog Panel Survey Methods

There are several ways of administering a survey, including:

Telephone

• response rate typically 25% - 50%, depending on audience and topic
• fairly cost efficient, depending on local call charge structure
• good for large national (or international) sampling frames
• cannot be used for non-audio information (graphics, demonstrations, taste/smell samples)
• three types:
• - traditional telephone interviews
• - computer assisted telephone dialing
• - computer assisted telephone interviewing

Mail

• response rate 5% - 30%
• the questionnaire may be handed to the respondents or mailed to them, but in all cases they are returned to the researcher via mail.
• cost is very low, since bulk postage is cheap in most countries
• ong time delays, often several months, before the surveys are returned and statistical analysis can begin
• not suitable for very complex issues
• no interviewer bias introduced
• large amount of information can be obtained: some mail surveys are as long as 50 pages
• response rates can be improved by using mail panels
• - members of the panel have agreed to participate
• - panels can be used in longitudinal designs where the same respondents are surveyed several times

Online Surveys

• can use web or e-mail
• - web is preferred over e-mail because interactive HTML forms can be used
• response rates sometimes 90% before 2000, but have been dropping fast since then (now 2% - 30%)
• often inexpensive to administer
• very fast results
• easy to modify
• response rates can be improved by using panels - members of the panel have agreed to participate
• if not password-protected, easy to manipulate by completing multiple times to skew results

Personal In-home Survey

• respondents are interviewed in person, in their homes (or at the front door)
• very high cost
• response rate 40% - 50%
• suitable when graphic representations, smells, or demonstrations are involved
• suitable for long surveys
• suitable for (Third World) locations where telephone or mail are not developed

Personal Mall Intercept Survey

• shoppers at malls are intercepted - they are either interviewed on the spot, taken to a room and interviewed, or taken to a room and given a self-administered questionnaire
• response rate about 50%
• socially acceptable - people feel that a mall is a more appropriate place to do research than their home
• potential for interviewer bias
• fast
• easy to manipulate by completing multiple times to skew results

Tactics used to increase response rates

• brevity - single page if possible
• financial incentives
• - prepaid in advance
• - paid at completion
• non-monetary incentives
• - commodity giveaways (pens, notepads)
• - entry into a lottery, draw or contest
• - discount coupons
• - promise of contribution to charity

• preliminary notification
• foot-in-the-door techniques - start with a small inconsequential request
• personalization of the request - address specific individuals
• follow-up requests - multiple requests
• claimed affiliation with universities, research institutions, or charities
• emotional appeals
• bids for sympathy

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