Question

Discuss the three survey methods, including the advantages and disadvantages of each. Give examples of when/where each type might be most effective.

Describe the four sources of error in measurement, including the possible causes of errors, and provide an example for each.

Answer 1

• The types of surveys according to instrumentation include the questionnaire and the interview. On the other hand, the types of surveys according to the span of time used to conduct the survey are comprised of cross-sectional surveys and longitudinal surveys.
• 1.Typically, a questionnaire is a paper-and-pencil instrument that is administered to the respondents. The usual questions found in questionnaires are closed-ended questions, which are followed by response options. However, there are questionnaires that ask open-ended questions to explore the answers of the respondents.
• Today, questionnaires are utilized in various survey methods, according to how they are given. These methods include the self-administered, the group-administered, and the household drop-off.
• Among the three, the self-administered survey method is often used by researchers nowadays. The self-administered questionnaires are widely known as the mail survey method.
• However, since the response rates related to mail surveys had gone low, questionnaires are now commonly administered online, as in the form of web surveys.
• Advantages: Ideal for asking closed-ended questions; effective for market or consumer research
• Disadvantages: Limit the researcher’s understanding of the respondent’s answers; requires budget for reproduction of survey questionnaires
• 2.Between the two broad types of surveys, interviews are more personal and probing. Questionnaires do not provide the freedom to ask follow-up questions to explore the answers of the respondents, but interviews do.
• An interview includes two persons - the researcher as the interviewer, and the respondent as the interviewee. There are several survey methods that utilize interviews. These are the personal or face-to-face interview, the phone interview, and more recently, the online interview.
• Advantages: Follow-up questions can be asked; provide better understanding of the answers of the respondents
• Disadvantages: Time-consuming; many target respondents have no public-listed phone numbers or no telephones at all.
• 3.Collecting information from the respondents at a single period in time uses the cross-sectional type of survey. Cross-sectional surveys usually utilize questionnaires to ask about a particular topic at one point in time. For instance, a researcher conducted a cross-sectional survey asking teenagers’ views on cigarette smoking.
• The advantages of cross-sectional study include:Used to prove and/or disprove assumptions,Not costly to perform and does not require a lot of time,Captures a specific point in time
• The disadvantages of cross-sectional study include:Cannot be used to analyze behavior over a period to time,Does not help determine cause and effect,The timing of the snapshot is not guaranteed to be representative
• 4.When the researcher attempts to gather information over a period of time or from one point in time up to another, he is doing a longitudinal survey. The aim of longitudinal surveys is to collect data and examine the changes in the data gathered. Longitudinal surveys are used in cohort studies, panel studies and trend studies.
• The primary advantage of using this form of research is that it can help find patterns that may occur over long periods, but would not be observed over short periods. Changes can be tracked so that cause and effect relationships can be discovered.
• The primary disadvantage of using longitudinal studies for research is that long-term research increases the chances of unpredictable outcomes. If the same people cannot be found for a study update, then the research ceases.
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