Effective Telephone, Self-Completion, and Online Surveys

Posted on Dec 9, 2024 in Language

Telephone Interviews

Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI)

Computers have replaced paper questionnaires in telephone interviews. Phone interviews are guided by a questionnaire displayed on a computer screen. The interviewer records answers via the keyboard, entering numbers for pre-coded responses displayed on the screen. Advantages of CATI include:

  • The interviewer is freer to focus on the conversation.
  • Data processing is eliminated.
  • Reduced costs and errors.
  • Faster analysis.

Carrying Out an Interview

Before the interview begins: The interviewer should indicate how long it is expected to take, mention that all that is said will be kept confidential, and that there will be no attempt to sell anything.

The interviewer must always be assumptive and confident, create trust, and ensure respondents don’t feel like they are being singled out unfairly. Potential difficulties include:

  • The person is always out or does not have the time.
  • The respondent is survey-weary (tired).
  • The ratio between the number of phone numbers dialed and the number of interviews achieved will vary.
  • In a short survey of the general public with a good list, it may be possible to achieve one interview for every five dialed calls.
  • In a B2B survey, it is likely that at least 20 dialed numbers must be called to achieve one interview.

The interview: In most cases, once respondents have started the interview, they see it through to completion. The crucial requirement of any interview is to know the questionnaire thoroughly. Although the questionnaire is a script, the interviewer should show they are listening and are interested. The body language of the voice is very important, given there is nothing else to create rapport.

The close: By the time the interview is finished, a relationship will have been created with the respondent. Respondents deserve to be thanked for their time and effort. It may be appropriate to ask permission to call again to clarify any of the answers. (This is more important in business-to-business interviews.)

Limitations of Telephone Interviews

  • When a respondent needs to see something.
  • When an explanation of a concept is too lengthy to read out.
  • When a picture of a new product is needed.
  • When there is a long list of factors that could influence the respondent’s decision to choose a product (more than five or six factors on a list). It is difficult for the respondent to hold them in their mind.
  • Researchers attempt to overcome this problem by ‘recruiting to web’. During the phone call, respondents are given a web address to visit to view the material.
  • Susceptible to distractions.
  • Telephone interviews can’t be trusted in some countries, such as Japan.

Self-Completion Questionnaires

When to Use Self-Completion Questionnaires

  • Perfect tool for the DIY researcher.
  • Preferred method if respondents have difficulty finding the time to get to the phone or if they value privacy in their responses.
  • Presents a chance to use pictorial explanations.
  • Useful means of collecting data from more than one respondent in a household or company.
  • People can take their time.

Disadvantages of Self-Completion Questionnaires

  • Generate low and uncertain response rates if the audience is not highly engaged or required to complete by law (around 10%).
  • Certainty of responses will not be known unless control checks are carried out.

Principles of Designing Self-Completion Questionnaires

The importance of the introductory letter: It is very important. It sets the scene for why the research is being carried out and plants the hook that encourages the response. It should provide assurance about confidentiality and give clear instructions.

Deciding questions: Careful scripting and formatting are needed to determine what questions need to be answered.

Question types, wording, and sequencing: The golden rule is to think from the point of view of the respondent to create better questions. Avoid complicated, open, or free-ranging questions.

Enhancing the appearance of the questionnaire: An attractive layout will attract more responses. Use colors and graphics.

Good Practices in Self-Completion Questionnaires

  • Pre-testing and piloting postal surveys.
  • Project management and administration: planning, costing, timetabling.

Boosting Response Rates

Interest (5/50), keeping it brief, advanced publicity, second mailings, and incentives.

Online Surveys

The Growth of Online Surveys

The use of online panels is increasing.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Surveys

  • Most people probably seek to avoid invitations.
  • Researchers know approximately how long it should take.
  • Responses can be spotted as”dirt” or”flatlinin” (giving the same response repeatedly).

Online Surveys Using Market Research: Advantages

  • High-quality responses.
  • Relatively inexpensive.
  • Eliminates interviewer bias.
  • In an online survey, the respondent can look over a long list of points.
  • Do not require huge resources to carry out.
  • Online panel organizations can design surveys with large resources.

Online Focus Groups

A chat room on a website where a moderator brings together a scattered audience. The audience would be recruited either by telephone or online and requested to join the online focus group on a given date. Usually, two days are set aside for the discussion. Other types include online focus groups in real-time, typically lasting 90 minutes (with around 10 participants each). These groups often allow for polls.

Data Analysis

Data Analysis of Open-Ended Questions

Each response to an open-ended question is unique. With a small number of responses, it is easy to read through them all and make some generalizations. However, with a larger number of respondents (e.g., 100), it becomes more difficult. The process of categorizing individual responses to open-ended questions is called coding, and the list of codes is a code frame. As can be seen in the example, an individual respondent may give a response that falls into two groups. It may be more useful to group these in different ways, for example, high price issues plus depreciation. There is no absolutely right or wrong approach; it all depends on what the information is to be used for. Producing the most appropriate coding frame requires skill and a holistic understanding of the project. It is a job for the researcher in charge of the project and should not be left to the data preparation team, as they may not be aware of all the objectives of the study. Note that the column does not total 100% because of multi-response; some respondents have given reasons for not intending to buy that fall into two or more code categories. Tables showing this type of coded response to open-ended questions can also include cross-analyses. The coding of open-ended questions in market research is quite a problematical activity. The coding frame itself may be inappropriate and produce a data analysis output that leads to misinterpretation and possibly wrong conclusions. Open-ended questions require coding, which is very labor-intensive (therefore costly) and highly judgmental. This type of problem does not exist with closed questions. The researcher should think very carefully at the questionnaire design stage whether open-ended questions are really needed. It is generally best to keep open-ended questions to an absolute minimum.