Identify the task characteristics that researchers should consider when selecting a survey method.

Posted on: 5th May 2020

1332 Views

Survey research is a technique of collecting data by asking questions from respondents. College going students when asked to perform survey research they have questions How to do surveys.

If you are performing survey research for the first time then you are in the right place.  In this article, our professional is providing with step by step guide for conducting survey research. By reading this article, you will be able to gather easily and systematically.

Survey Research: Meaning

Survey research can be referred to as a collection of information about a group of people by asking them questions and analyzing the research results. It is considered as a flexible method of data collection. You can utilize the survey technique for collecting data in different types of research.

Hire a Professional Essay & Assignment Writer for completing your Academic Assessments

Native Singapore Writers Team

• 100% Plagiarism-Free Essay
• Highest Satisfaction Rate
• Free Revision
• On-Time Delivery

What are steps of doing Survey Research?

The six steps of surveying research are:

Step 1: Identification of Participants

Before starting to perform survey research, you need to first design proper research Questions. It is very much important for you to design clear research questions. The research question that you have to design should be such that it should clearly state what you intend to identify. Before starting to perform a survey, you should determine your target audience for those who will participate in the survey.

Population in the survey: It refers to a particular group of people about whom you intend to gather information. The Group of participants can be broad or narrow.  For example:

1. Population of England
2. College students of Singapore University
3. Customer of Tesco Company

Note: At the time of executing the survey, you should make sure that the survey which you are executing producing result which can be generalized. It is very much essential for you to clearly define who you intend to draw a Conclusion.

• Sample in survey Research

It is very much difficult to perform a survey on a complete population. You can’t gather information from every person in the population. Therefore, you are required to select a sample that is a few people who will be participating in your study.  It is the size of the population that will help you in determining your sample size. There are different types of sampling methods in research that you can utilize for selecting a sample for the survey. After making the selection of the sample, you must make sure that it represents the entire population. You can also utilize an online sample calculator for identifying the number of responses you require. At the time of making the selection of the sample is larger and there are more representatives in your sample. It is the strategy that helps you in drawing valid conclusions.

Step 2: Decide the type of survey

At this step, you need to determine which type of survey you intend to perform. The two types of survey which the researcher generally performs are:

A Questionnaire, in such type of research researcher, needs to prepare a list of questions which are afterward distributed one, E-mail, and then respondents are asked to fill themselves.

1. Questionnaire

Sending survey using a mail is a basic method which the researcher utilizes for collecting demographic information.  For instance, you can utilize the government census for gathering information about unemployed people in the nation. By using the government census as a source of secondary information:

• You can have easy access to a large sample.
• The researcher can retain control of the sample.

2. Interview

The interview is considered to be an effective technique of data collection in such cases where the sample size is small. It is the interview technique which enables the researcher to gather in detail information about preferences and opinion of people. Researchers can execute an interview using a phone or in person.

• An interview, in such type of survey research investigator, asks a particular set of questions.
• Type of question which you should write dependent on the size of the sample and location.
• An interview, in such type of survey research investigator, asks a particular set of questions.
• Type of question which you should write dependent on the size of the sample and location.
• You have personal contact with participants, as this will help you in getting an idea about who will be participating in survey research.
• You can utilize the interview technique also for performing quantitative research. Investigators will need to record every response as a category and they have to analyze results using statistical techniques. The researcher mainly uses the interview technique of data collection for collecting qualitative facts. In this technique, complete responses are transcribed and research analyses every response for developing an in-depth understanding of the belief and opinions of people.

Step 3: Prepare the survey questions

At this step of survey research, you require determining questions that you intend to ask and analyze the way you would ask questions.  At the time of asking questions you need to consider the four things these are:

A)    Type of questions

There are two types of questions that you can include in your survey these are open-ended and close-ended questions.

About close-ended questions, the researcher provides the option from which respondents need to select one. The main benefit of the close-ended question is that you can limit and relevant responses. It is the close-ended questions that enable you to get numerical data that you can easily analyze for identifying patterns, correlations, and Trends.

Open-ended questions are best for collecting information in Qualitative research.  These are a set of questions that do not have predetermined answers. By including the open-ended questions in the survey questionnaire, the researcher provides respondents with a chance to provide answers in their own words. By utilizing the open-ended questionnaire technique you can gather detailed information about the subject.

B)    Content of questions’

You should carefully need to consider every Question in the survey, as it is the technique that will help you in ensuring the validity and reliability of research. After designing the research questions you are required to make sure that research questions are narrowly focused and contain enough information for the respondents to answers questions incorrectly manner. It is very much essential for you to eliminate such questions which are not relevant to your topic or purpose of research.

At the time of designing the close-ended questions, you must ensure that the options which you have cover in close-ended questions cover all possibilities.

C)    The phrasing of the questions

About language, you must design clear and concise research questions. You should formulate research Questions considering the nature of the target population and the level of knowledge they possess. Researchers should use such language which is easily understandable by the target audience. You should avoid using such vague words. It is very much important for you to ensure that questions are phrased neutrally without biasness.

D)    Order and layout

After designing the questions, you should ensure that they are arranged in a proper and logical sequence.  You should include easy and sensitive questions in the beginning.

If your survey covers several topics then you can group the questions.  Other options are researcher can categorize questions into different sections to assist the respondent in developing the understanding of the things asked in every part.

Step 4:  Distribution of Survey

Before beginning the survey you should develop a proper plan which should include when, where, how you are going to execute the survey. It is also very essential for you to determine in advance the number of responses you want for answering research questions. You should also determine techniques that you will utilize for having access to the sample.  After getting satisfaction and ensuring that specific research design is suitable for answering research questions you can start performing a survey by applying the research method of your choice.

Step 5: Analysis of response

There are several techniques that you can utilize for analyzing survey results. Researchers for analyzing the results need to process data. You can utilize a computer program for sorting all types of data. Information can be refined by eliminating incomplete or incorrect information.

If you are asking open-ended questions then you are required to code the responses by giving labels to every response and organizing data into different categories. There are other Qualitative methods such as thematic analysis which is considered to be as most suitable for analyzing interviews. SPSS is the software that you can use for analyzing the Quantitative data.

Step 6: Write results

At the last step of survey research, after completion of the collection and analysis of information, you are requiring to write up as a thesis, research part, or dissertation.

In the methodology section, you need to describe the way you have to execute the survey. You are also required to explain the type of research Question you utilize, sampling technique, location of survey, etc. You can place the Questionnaire in the Appendix section of the research paper or Dissertation.

After that you need to introduce the analysis by describing how you have prepare data and highlight the statistical technique you have used for analyzing information. At last, in the result section, you are required to provide a summary of key results. In conclusion and discussion section, you need to interpret the survey result. Here, you can also provide an answer to your research questions.

Buy high-quality essays & assignment writing as per particular university, high school or college by Singapore Writers

 Uses of survey in research

The researcher mainly uses the survey as a technique of data collection related to different fields.  The selection of a survey for gathering information is considered to be a good choice if you intend to identify preferences, characteristics, or opinions about people. The basic uses of the survey are:

• Social research: This research includes the collection of data related to the experience and characteristics of different social groups.
• Market research: It is survey research that the researcher performs for gathering information about customers’ perceptions of goods or services which the company is offering.
• Health research: Investigator performs such type of research for gathering information about the health of patients. The main purpose of conducting such type of research is to identify symptoms and finding an appropriate treatment for a specific disease.
• Politics: It involves measuring public opinion about new policies that are designed by political parties.
• Psychology: Such types of research involves executing an investigation for gathering information on personal traits, behavior, and preferences of people.

The researcher mainly uses a survey technique for the collection of information in Quantitative Research. In such types of research you need to analyze response by applying statistical technique which is very much essential for concluding the population.

Conclusion

From the above data, it has been concluded from the above that survey in research is a very useful technique for gathering detailed information about the topic. Another fact which has been observed from the above is that survey is a flexible method of data collection.

Stuck with a lot of homework assignments and feeling stressed ? Take professional academic assistance & Get 100% Plagiarism free papers

What are the characteristics of survey research method?

Which is the most important characteristics of the survey method of research?

What are the criteria for selection of survey method?

What are the characteristics of a survey?