Modes of Survey Delivery


Modes of Survey Delivery


Various means of delivering and administrating surveys will be discussed in the following module.

 Learning Objectives

  • List different methods of delivering and administering surveys
  • Discuss the pros and cons of these methods
  • Explain the factors that should be considered when choosing the appropriate mode of delivery

 

There are many different modes of delivery or means of administering a survey. They can be done by personal interview, by telephone, by mail, web-based or through a combination of these methods. When deciding on the mode of delivery, researchers need to consider many factors including the type of target population, characteristics of the potential respondents, the types of questions, the topic of the questions, the desired response rate, cost and the time needed to collect the data. The following chart describes common ways to deliver surveys and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each.

 Modes of Survey Delivery

 

Advantages

Disadvantages

Factors to Consider

Face-to-face Personal Interview:

*Highest cooperation and lowest refusal

*High quality detailed responses

*Can explore answers with respondents and ask follow up questions

*Can assist with terminology and understanding questions

*Respondents need not be literate

*Most costly and time- consuming

*May be interviewer bias

*Respondents may not be fully honest

*Anonymity is lost

*All members of a population may not be equally available for personal interviews

*There may be geographic limitations

*Need space and privacy

*May be dangerous to go to homes

*May be extra costs in training and travel

*Requires well-trained interviewers

*Can use open-ended questions to more fully explore a topic

Telephone:

*Better response rates than mail or internet

*Shorter data collection time and less expensive than face-to-face

*Still able to use open-ended questions to explore a topic

*May be able to use software with prompts to automate it

*Can assist respondents with terminology and understanding questions

*Protects anonymity and good for more sensitive issues

*Literacy is not an issue

*Less geographic restrictions than face-to-face interviews

*Not all respondents are reachable by phone

*Need trained interviewers

*May appear to be a sales call and non-response may be higher

*Must decide to use cell phones, landlines, or both. May be some bias depending on the decision

*Must be kept relatively short

*May be language barriers

*Are your phone numbers up to date?

*What is the best time to reach respondents?

*Telephones charges

*Computer and technical knowledge if automated

*How to offer incentives without excessive postage

Mail:

*Lower costs

*Administered with a smaller team

*Access to a broader population in a larger geographical area

*Great for sensitive issues

*Respondents can respond on their own time

*Good for those who are less literate with computers

*Lower response rates

*Most likely need an incentive

*Slower data collection than telephone interviews

*No clarification of terms as in interviews during completion

*Population must be literate and motivated

*Must have up-to-date addresses

*Must maintain addresses

*Costs for postage, follow up mailings, paper, envelopes and stamps.

Internet/Web-based:

*Lower cost

*Can reach populations anywhere around the world

*Reduces time

*Allows for larger sample size

*Pre-Program flow charts and sequencing of questions

*Data may dump directly into database

*Can be done on their own time

*Ease may increase response rates

*Not every respondent may have a computer or online access

*Differences in people’s computers and web browsers

*Getting a truly representative sample may be difficult

*Need fast, reliable internet access

*Respondent must be computer literate

*Literacy and terminology may be an issue

*May need technical expertise

*May need to use different types of media

*Does the survey require a survey company or software?

*Will confidentiality be maintained?

*May be hosting and software costs

*Will the software import your questions?


 
 

 

Suggested Readings

Away, L. A., & Cornelius, L. J. (2011). Designing and conducting health surveys: a comprehensive guide. John Wiley & Sons.
Blair, J., Cana, R. F., & Blair, E. A. (2013). Designing surveys: A guide to decisions and procedures. Sage Publications.
Bowling, A. (2005). Mode of questionnaire administration can have serious effects on data quality.Journal of public health, 27(3), 281-291
De Vaus, D. (2013).Surveys in social research. Routledge.
Dillan, D. A. (2011). Mail and Internet surveys: The tailored design method--2007 update with new Internet, visual, and mixed-mode guide. John Wiley & Sons.
Fowler Jr, F. J. (2013). Survey research methods. Sage publications.
Nair, C. S., & Adams, P. (2009). Survey platform: A factor influencing online survey delivery and response rate.Quality in Higher Education, 15(3), 291-296.
Thomas, S. J. (1999). Designing Surveys That Work! A Step-by-Step Guide. Corwin Press, Inc.
 

 

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Designing Surveys: https://cirt.gcu.edu/research/developmentresources/research_ready/designing_surveys

Introduction to Designing Surveys: https://cirt.gcu.edu/research/developmentresources/research_ready/designing_surveys/1

Writing Survey Questions: https://cirt.gcu.edu/research/developmentresources/research_ready/designing_surveys/2

Sampling- Who to Survey: https://cirt.gcu.edu/research/developmentresources/research_ready/designing_surveys/3

Modes of Survey Delivery: https://cirt.gcu.edu/research/developmentresources/research_ready/designing_surveys/4

Survey Response Rates: https://cirt.gcu.edu/research/developmentresources/research_ready/designing_surveys/5

Ethics & Designing Surveys: https://cirt.gcu.edu/research/developmentresources/research_ready/designing_surveys/6

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