Question

Question #1:

• What is a survey?
• With the aid of examples, distinguish between face-to-face, telephone, mail, and internet surveys.
• What are their relative advantages and disadvantages?
• Which is the best and why?

Question #2:

• What is an experiment?
• What is the difference between a true/classical experiment and a quasi-experiment?
• Enumerate and explain 5 threats to experimental validity.

Answer 1

What is a survey?- A survey is a form of data collection which is used to research/study the opinions and attitudes of people in a society. It includes the surveyor, the sample group upon which the survey is conducted. The goal of a standardized survey is to collect information which helps to know the opinion of the general public. It is one of the most used methods of inquiry.

Face-to-face Survey- As the name suggests, this type of survey is conducted in person with the sample group. It can typically be conducted for a longer time than the other surveys as people are more likely to speak face to face. Example- one may conduct a survey about what people think about their local representative. Its advantages include:

1. Better quality of data provided by the respondent as they may not be able to manipulate their answers and respond spontaneously.
2. As the respondent can not lie about their sex, age or race, it leads to better screening of the population. When surveys aren't face-to-face, respondents may lie about these factors and hence falsify the survey.
3. It also the surveyor to observe the non-verbal cues of the respondent, such as their body language. They surveyor can better understand the emotions of the respondent. This can enhance the results of the survey.
4. Clarification to any doubts the respondent may have can be cleared at the same time. There is no waiting time.

The disadvantages of this method include:

1. It is time consuming and requires prior setting up of meetings with the respondents and find a suitable time to conduct the survey.
2. This type of survey is not easy on the pockets. It is costly as the surveyor needs to travel and also pay the travel costs of the personnel traveling with them.
3. If person conducting the survey doesn't ask the right questions, the quality of the survey will suffer. Hence, the success of this survey type depends upon the ability of the surveyor.
4. There is also the disadvantage of surveyor bias where she/he can manipulate the responses due to some bias that they have in them regarding the respondent.

Telephone Survey- These surveys are conducted over the phone and in today's generation they are even easier to conduct. Example- one can conduct a survey to know whether people are happy with the polucy implementations of the government. It's advantages are:

1. It is a cost effective method as there is no travel involved. The surveyor can pick up the phone and ask the questions to the respondent in real time.
2. Their is no constraint of location. It can be conducted anywhere at anytime.
3. Here also, doubts and clarifications can be made at the same time without any waiting.
4. The data gathered through it, can be as good as the face-to-face method as there is a personal connection.

The disadvantages of this method are:

1. People may be unwilling to respond or get annoyed as they may telephone surveys intrusive (even we tend to do this when we receive such calls).
2. There is a possibility that people may lie about screening questions such as age, sex etc.
3. The non-verbal cues cannot be observed and hence, an important tool is lost.
4. People may hesitate to give out information about their lives as there is not the same rapport formation like in face-to-face surveys.

Mail Surveys- These surveys are administered through mail. It involves sending the survey to the respondents' address who in turn mails back the filled survey form. Example- one can conduct a survey about what like and dislike about their town and changes they would like to see.The advantages of this method are:

1. It gives respondents the convenience to respond in their own time, thus they are more comfortable.
2. Some respondents may find it easier to convey their answers through writing than through speech.
3. There is no restriction of location as mails can be sent to respondents anywhere.
4. People have no restriction as to how much information they can provide. They may write whatever they wish to and as much they wish to.

The disadvantages of this method are:

1. It requires an error free design of the survey form as changes cannot be made to it on the spot.
2. People may choose to not respond to the survey and ignore the mail.
3. Doubts and clarifications cannot be made in real time.
4. It is a slow process.

Internet Surveys- a widely used tool in the modern world, internet has also helped in data collection for surveys. Example: one may conduct a survey about their opinion on the performance of the President or the Prime Minister of their country. Its advantages are:

1. It is cost effective as it requires just an internet connection, which a majority of us have today. There is no extra costs involved such as travel.
2. It is a quick method and there are various sites that facilitate data collection through internet surveys.
3. The surveyor can add or remove questions as per their wish.
4. It allows access to all corners of the globe, there is no geographical restriction.

Its disadvantages are:

1. There is no connection with respondent and non-verbal cues are missed out.
2. One may have trouble reaching some of the sample groups as they may not have internet access.
3. People may think that the survey is spam and pay no heed.
4. There is the possibility to lie about the responses.

One cannot clearly say that this survey method is better. All types of surveys have advantages and their disadvantages. It is up to the surveyor to use the correct method as per their situation and requirements.

What is an experiment? An experiment involves control of variables, and the scientific testing of a hypothesis. Through the experiment, the hypothesis can be proved or disproved. If it is disproved then the hypothesis can be changed and the experiment can be conducted again. Experiments are an important method on inquiry in any scientific field. In an experiment the independent variable (the cause) is manipulated to see the effects on the dependent variable (the effect); while at the same time controlling extreneous variables such as noise.

While both true and quasi-experiments are widely used in research and both help in testing the hypothesis, the key differences between them are:

1. A true experiment involves the random assignment of people to the the control group or the treatment group. In a quasi-experiment, the assignments are not done randomly.
2. A true experiment is in a highly controlled environment. Whereas in quasi-exoeriments, full control may not be possible.
3. A true experiment is conducted in an artificially created environment and thus quasi-experiments are more suitable for experiments in a natural setting.

Threats to experimental validity:

1. Maturation- This occurs in experiments held over a long period of time, it is the phenomenon where subjects show changes with passage of time.
2. Subject Selection- The person conducting the experiment should select the suitable subjects for their experiment as wrong selection can impact validity.
3. Reactivity- The subjects behave differently than they naturally do as they know they are being tested. So their true nature is not possible to measure.
4. Pygmalion/Rosenthal Effect- This occurs in the subject as they know there some expectations out of them and may lead to their better performance in the experiment.
5. History- This refers to anything that occurs outside the test field which can influence the performance of the subject in the experiment.