SURVEY RESEARCH Problem identification to instrumentation advantages and

SURVEY RESEARCH Problem identification to instrumentation, advantages and limitations, considerations for a good survey.

DEFINITION In Business Dictionary, “Survey research is a method of sociological investigation that uses question based or statistical surveys to collect information about how people think and acts”.

SURVEY RESEARCH ONE OF THE TYPE OF DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH describe situations qdo not make accurate predictions qdo not determine cause and effect qstatistical researches i-e frequency, Average qnon-experimental, descriptive research qgenerally used to study features or occurrence q

WHY WE DO SURVEY RESEARCH? Uniqueness: gather information not available from other sources. Probability Sampling: unbiased representation of population of interest. Standardization of measurement: same information collected from every respondent. Analysis needs: use survey data to complement existing data from secondary sources.

QUALITATIVE OR QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN SURVEY Survey Research means of analysis including a respondent , questionnaire and interview to gain qualitative or quantitative information. Quantitative methods when questionnaires are used to collect data Qualitative methods when focus groups and interviews applied to used collect data.

Type of surveys: 1: Cross-sectional surveys 2: Longitudinal surveys (Babbie, E. R. )

TYPES OF SURVEYS 1: cross Sectional Survey Descriptive and not observational or experimental Øcollect data on a population at a single point in time ØObservation of all of the population ØRepresentative subsets can be used at one point of time ØProvide data on entire population Ø

Types of Surveys 2: longitudinal Surveys Type of observational study ØInvolves studying same variables over a long period of time ØObserving same people or same variables Ø 3 types of longitudinal survey §Trend study: focus on a particular population, which is sampled Ø and examined repeatedly § Cohort study: focus on a particular population group, sampled § Panel study: allow the researcher to find out why changes in the and studied more than once population are happening

Data Collection Tools Questionnaire q. Interview q

Questionnaire is instrument consisting of a series of questions answered by respondents and can be handed out or sent by mail Advantages Ø uniform way Ø more objective Ø relatively quick Ø Information collected from a large group Disadvantages Ø forget important issues Ø Not possible to explain Ø participants might misinterpret some points Ø take considerable time to develop Ø Mistakes in asking too many questions

Interview is a conversation between two or more people and information is obtained through inquiry and recorded by interviewer Advantages. Useful and quick Allows to describe Produce a higher response rate. Are useful for untying complex topics Disadvantages Time consuming Expensive Interfering or disturbing At risk to interview bias not used for a large number of people

Modes of survey administration Telephone Interviewing Advantages: Less expensive than personal interviews. Shorter data collection period than personal interviews. Better response rate than mail for list samples. Disadvantages: Biased against households without telephones, unlisted numbers. Non response. Difficult to administer questionnaires on sensitive or complex topics. Mail Surveys Advantages: Generally lowest cost. Can be administered by smaller team of people (no field staff). Easy Access to otherwise difficult to locate, busy populations.

q q q Disadvantages: Most difficult to obtain cooperation. No interviewer involved in collection of data. Slower data collection period than telephone. Web Surveys q q q Advantages: Lower cost (no paper, postage, mailing, data entry costs). Can reach international populations. Sample size can be greater. Disadvantages: Approximately 40% of homes own a computer; 30% have home e-mail. Differences in capabilities of people's computers and software for accessing Web surveys. Different ISPs/line speeds limits extent of graphics that can be used (Linda. K. , 2005)

Constructing the Survey Constructing a survey instrument is an art in itself. § There are numerous small decisions that must be made about content, wording, format, placement that can have important consequences for entire study. §There are many aspects of survey construction if do not carefully, make critical errors that have dramatic effects on the results (William, 2006).

Selecting the survey method and Considerations Selecting the type of survey is one of the most critical decisions and there are very few simple rules and considerations and that will make the decision and judgment to balance the advantages and disadvantages of different survey type. §Population Issues literate or cooperative population and language issues §Sample issues where and how data available and respondents found §Question issues types of questions and complex questions §Content issues respondent need to consult records §Bias issues social desirability and false respondents §Administrative issues costs, facilities, time, and personnel (William,

Limitations Surveys have limitations as research tools. q First, rely on subject’s honesty and memory. Thus, respondent’s desire to give socially and culturally acceptable responses to items that address sensitive topics may bias survey results. q. Second, the quality of data obtained depends on how well respondents understand the survey items or questions

Sample and Sample Size There are two categories of sampling: q Random sampling q Non-random sampling Random sampling is used when quantitative methods are used to collect data (e. g. questionnaires). Non-random sampling is commonly applied when qualitative methods (e. g. focus groups and interviews) are used to collect data, and is typically used for exploratory work.

Sample Size Different rules apply to quantitative and qualitative research when it comes to determining sample size. Sample Size in Qualitative Surveys a researcher needs to have a clear idea of how the data will be used. Sample Size in Quantitative Surveys often involves comparisons between large segments or subgroups of a target. Because quantitative research is numbers-driven, determining a comfortable sample size can be fairly easy for each important group or segment (Devault, 2012)

Advantages of Survey Research o. Faster data collection than other methods. o Relatively inexpensive data collection. o Survey data can be very accurate if sampling is properly done. o. Efficient data collection methods. o. Mass amounts of data. o. May easily be quantifiable. o. Standardized, structured questionnaire minimizes interviewer bias. o Tremendous volume of information can be collected in short period of time.

Disadvantages of Survey Research o. Large sources of error o. Each methods has its own unique problems o. People may lie o. Can't explore deeper into responses o Biased result o. Requires some statistical knowledge for sampling and other specialized skill to process and interpret results

Example Service quality is considered substantial when it comes to define organizational success. The winning strategy is to deliver excellent quality service to customers. In the present milieu, need to improve service quality in Pakistan hotel industry have come under limelight due to stiff competition where hotels are trying to carve competitive advantage through the human factor. Excellent quality service not only results in a profit strategy but also it is energizing for employees to perform to their potential to meet challenges. By providing quality service, organizations can sustain customers’ confidence and competitive advantages over their competitors. This study scrutinizes the effects of various elements of hotel industry which affects customer satisfaction. In this research paper, both qualitative and quantitative studies were used. The data was collected through questionnaire which contained multiple choice questions. Results of different correlations, T-test and sequence graphs revealed a great deal of existing services with customer satisfaction. Mainly courtesy of attendants, comfort in guestroom, cleanliness and environment of hotel have played vital role in creating serenity and subsequent contentment among customers. Our study confirms direct relation between organizational success and customer satisfaction. It seems judicious to believe that understanding of customer satisfaction role is extremely significant as it appears key factor in the success of modern organization.