Marketing Research Exam Review

Marketing Research Exam Review: Chapters 1-4, 9-11, 14

Chapter 1: The Role of Marketing Research

• Marketing Research- is the firm’s communication link with the environment. Is the Process of gathering and interpreting data for use in developing implementing and monitoring the firms marketing plans.

• Links the customer, consumer and public to the marketer

• Used to identify marketing problems and opportunities
• Generate, refine and evaluate marketing actions
• Monitor marketing performance and improve understanding of marketing as a process

• Marketing Research really began to take off around the end of WW2
• Three major categories of firms that conduct marketing research are

• Companies that produce and sell products and services
• Ad Agencies
• Marketing research companies

Chapter 2: The Research Process and Ethical Concerns

• Phases of the Process:
• 1). Define the problem or explore and identify the opportunity

• Specifying the managers decision problem and on or more research problems to be addresses
• All aspects of marketing research should tie back directly to the decision problem
• Research Request agreement- a document that Cleary stats the research problems to addressed in a research request project
• Exploratory research- is often there to clarify the issues

• Used when the problem to be solved is vague or broad

• Reviewing published data, interviewing knowledgeable people, conducting focus groups.
• Important characteristic of exploratory research- Flexibility
• Clear important outcome- clear understanding of exactly what info is needed by managers to make important decisions

• Data Collection: Existing Data

• Collecting  ongoing data is like a candle

• Continuous marketing info system rarely shows all the details I a particular situation but its glow is bright and steady

• Much of the data that marketing managers ned to make routine decisions may already exist inside the company’s databases and can be accessed through the company’s- Decision Support System(DSS)

• Example: companies routinely track sales of their products by region, salesperson, product line and any other way they can break it down as a means of determining the success of various marketing plans

• Better equipped at finding value within big data through sensors in electronic equipment- internet searches and emails

• Types of data that end up in DSS are secondary data- data that can be collected for another purpose that can be used to address a current problem

• Find out if data exist in another external source- government sources( census data), published sources, or commercial sources- companies that specialize in collecting and selling secondary data

• Data Collection: Primary Data

• Generally time consuming, expensive process
• Should only be collected if the information cannot be obtained from the company’s internal sources or from external sources
• Causal Research- uses experiments to identify the cause and effect relationships between variables

• Using test markets to determine which version of a product to offer, which ad campaign is most effective

• Descriptive Research- much more common means of gathering primary data

• Focuses on describing a population, often emphasizing the frequency with which something occurs or the extent to which two variable as related to one another
• After method has been established, designing the actual observation form of the questionnaire to be used

• What group will be observed
• The particular subset chosen of the population is called the sample
• In designing the same the researchers  must specify

• Sampling frame- which is the list of population elements from which the sample will be drawn
• The type of sampling plan to be used
• Size of the sample

• Two Types of plans:

• Probability sample- preferred, each member of the population has a known, non-zero chance of being selected, allow to determine, at a certain margin of a sampling  error, what could have been true of the whole pop if we had information on all the elements
• Non Probability Sample- Researches chose what individuals or groups will be part of the study and the results on apply to the sample- can’t be safely projected to the population

• Data Analysis:

• For Primary data- the data collection forms must be scanned o be sure that they are complete and consistent and that instructions were followed.- editing

• Then they must be coded, which involves assigning numbers to each of the answers so they can be analyzed by computed

• One these steps have been made then the data can be analyzed

• Analysis is straightforward, involving frequency counts, or simple descriptive analysis (mean and standard deviation)

• Information Reporting: written report is the doc submitted to management that summarizes the research results and the conclusions
• The Goal: Minimize total Error
• 2). Develop the appropriate research design

• Qualitative/Exploratory
• Secondary Data Analysis
• Univariate/Descriptive
• Casual/ Multivariate Research

• 3). Design the sample and data collection methodology
• 4). Collect and analyze data
• 5). Interpret and report on research results

Chapter 3: Problem Formulation

Keys in Problem Formulation

• Step 1: Meet with The Client

• Imperative that managers and researchers are able to communicate only with each other , they need to develop a relationship of truest
• Researchers need to keep the client engaged and actively participating in the process
• The researcher must get as much information as possible with the client with respect to the problem/ opportunity at hand

• Need to understand the problem from the managers viewpoint, along with all relevant background info
• Broader issue is Critical- without this you might go down a specific path
• Examples of questions: What caused you to notice the problem? What is likely to happen if there is no changes in the next six months
• Planned vs. Unplanned change
• Unplanned: sometimes problems/opportunities show up unexpectedly due to change in the external environment or they can be change ideas
• Planned: most companies want to increase their business, and they develop various marketing actions to do so.

• Planned changed is more oriented toward the future it is proactive and unplanned change is oriented more toward the past and is reactive

• Planned changed is change that firm wishes to bring out- basic issue of how

• Step 2: Clarify the Problem

• Researchers must ultimately be consultants who are responsible for ensuring that root causes and clear paths of action are determined

• Sometimes it necessary to challenge managers on their preexisting assumptions
• You don’t want to put the manager on the spot; the point is to help manger understand the true nature of the problem
• Good idea to conduct exploratory research at this stage, when mangers see evidence of the problems but don’t have the underlying reasons
• Research needs to make it imperative to provide a different perspective of the problem/ opportunity

• “normal thinking” can get in the way of the true nature of the problem

• Step 3: State the Mangers Decision Problem

• Decision Problem- The problem facing the decision maker for which the research is intended to provide answers

• Well state decision problem takes the mangers perspective, is as simple as possible, and takes the form of a question

• Example: New restaurant on college campus, but has yet to make a profit. Decision problem- “Why are store revenues so low?”
• Discovery- oriented decision problem- common with unplanned changes in the marketing environment

• What is going on?, and  “why is it going on”
• Researcher provides facts that decision makers can use in formulating strategies  to deal with unexpected situations
• Provides some aims and insights for managers to  make better decision

• Strategy- oriented decision problem

• Typically seeks to the answer of “how” questions about a problem or opportunity. The focus is generally on selecting alternative course action. Mostly of planned changes, with emphasis on how panned changed should be implemented

• Key distinction: strategy oriented research provides actionable results
• Also important: researches have to know when developing the mangers decision problem. Researcher must decide whether it is a one-time formation need or if the info will be needed at regular intervals in the future.

• Step 4: Develop Possible Research Problems

• Research Problem- a restatement of the decision problem in research terms

• What research can be done to provide answers to the decision problem
• Examples: Investigate current customer satisfaction
• Assess target market perceptions of the restaurant and its competitors
• Determine target market awareness

• Each of these research problems begins with an action word and describes info to be uncovered that might help solve the decision problem

• At this state the researches primary task Is to develop the full range of research problems for the given decision problem
• With strategy- oriented problems, there are typically fewer possible research problems because the focus has shifted onto making a choice among selected alternatives

• There are several strategic options available at the time.

• Step 5: Select Research Problems(s) to be Addressed

• Trick is to figure out which research problems to pursue given the normal resource constraints facing managers
• Researcher must carefully review each identified research problem in terms of trade – off between the info to be obtained versus the costs of obtaining that info

• Step 6: Prepare the Research Request Agreement

• Research Request Agreement- Document prepared by the research after merging  with the decision maker that summarizes the problems and the info that is needed to address it

• Background the events that lead to the mangers decision problem
• Decision problem- the underlying question on fronting the manger.
• Research Request- the range of research problems that would provide input into the decision problem
• Use- the way each piece of info will be used
• Population and subgroups- the groups fro who the info must be gathered
• Logistics- approximate the estimate of the time and money available to conduct the research

• Research Proposal- Written statement that describes the marketing problem, the purpose of the study, and a detailed outline of the research methodology

• Lays out the proposed method of conducting the research

Chapter 4- Exploratory Research

• Exploratory Research- Research conducted to gain ideas and insights to better define the problem or opportunity confronting the manager

• At the end of this phase researchers hope to know more about the situation and have an idea about potential avenues for research are most likely to yield useful info.
• The most formal outcome that might be achieved from exploratory research is one or more hypothesis about the situation

• Hypothesis- is an educated guess about how two or more variables are related
• Exploratory Research can be used for:

• Better formulating the mangers decision problem
• Increasing researchers familiarity with the problem
• Clarifying concepts

• They are typically small scale and flexible

• Exploratory Research should be:

• Small Scale: Regardless of the methods, exploratory research should be relatively small in size
• Flexibility: they are very flexible because unknown is great at the beginning of the process.

• They rarely use detailed questionnaires or involve probability sampling plans

• Researches often follow intuition

• Types of Exploratory Studies:

• Literature Search- search of statistics, trade journal, articles, magazines, and or online sources for data or insight to the problem at hand

• Almost all marketing research projects should start here
• It is the quickest and least costly ways to conduct exploratory research
• Emphasis on discovery of ideas and tentative explanations of the phenomenon and not on drawing conclusions

• Depth Interviews- Interviews with people knowledgeable about the general subject being investigated

• They are quite flexible- it is important to include people with differing points if view and opinion
• Often a good idea to have two interviewers, one for asking questions and one for taking notes

• Usually informal, and do not require a random samples

• Some possibilities:

• those who work with it (e.g., employees, consultants)
• those who study it (e.g., researchers, analysts)
• those who live it (e.g., consumers)

• Focus Group- an interview among a small number of individuals simultaneously ; the interview relies more on group discussion than on directed questions generate data        

• Moderator- The individual that meets with the focus group participants and guides the session
• Group interaction is the key aspect that distinguished focus group interviews from depth interviews, which are conducted with one respondent at a time

• It is a primary advantage
• Further ideas can be developed to their full importance because of the snowballing effect; a comment by one individual can trigger a chain of response from other participants

• This often encourages timid participants to express their ideas- results are that the responses are often more spontaneous and less conventional

• Characteristics of a focus Group:

• Mot consist of 8 to 12 member.
• One and a half to two hours
• Respondents are usually selected so that the groups are relatively homogenous- goal is to include people who are more or less like each other

• Traditional focus groups- meet face to face, often at facilitates
• Online Focus groups- utilize web technology

• Role of the Moderator- single most important and difficult role. They typically translate the study objectives into a guide book

• Moderators Guidebook- list the general and specific issues to be addressed during a focus group; the issues should move from general to specific

• In general the funnel approach is used, in which the moderator introduces broad general topics or takes fir, and then the conversation begins to focus on the key issues in the study
• The moderator needs to understand the background problem and the important info the client hopes to obtain from the research process

• They need to understand the overall plan as well: how many will be held, Electronic or face to face…etc.
• One important measure of a focus groups success is whether the participants talk to each other, rather the moderator

• Dark Side of Focus Groups:

• It’s easy for managers see what they expect to see in focus group results.

• Focus groups are only one form of exploratory research—they should not be expected to deliver final results or answers to decision problems—yet many managers seem to use them for that purpose.
• Like Crack cocaine of market research

• Nominal Groups: a group interview technique that initially limits respondents interaction while attempting to maximize input from individual group members

• Primary difference: nominal groups require written responses by participants before open discussion

• Asking people to think and write before speak

• Data Mining: the use of powerful analytic technologies to quickly and thoroughly explore mountains of data to obtain useful info

• 1-800-flowers.com used data mining to develop successful promotions after discovering that professional, suburban moms were a key demographic for them

• Case analysis- intensive study of selected examples of the phenomenon of interest

• ...recent change- way a market adjusts to the entrance of a new competitor can reveal a great deal about the structure of the industry
• ...extremes of behavior-
• ...the “best” and “worst” situations- researcher will probably learn more by comparing the best and worst territories than by looking at all of them

• Benchmarking- using the organizations that excel at some function as sources of ideas for improvement

• LL BEAN was so excellent for its order fulfillment that Xerox once visited ll bean to determine why ll bean was three times more efficient than them.

• Ethnography- an increasing popular form of case analysis, the detailed observation of consumers during their ordinary daily lives using direct observations, interviews, and radio and video recordings

• Offers insights on real behavior

• Projective Methods- Methods that encourage respondents to reveal their own feelings, thoughts, and behaviors by shifting the focus away from individual through indirect tasks

• The individuals reaction to an ambiguous stimulus is an indicator of the persons basic perceptions of the phenomenon
• Respondent given a vague stimulus that an individual is asked to describe, expand upon, and or build a structure around
• Word Association- participants are asked to respond to a list of words with the first word that comes to mind

• Responses judged in three ways:

• Frequency with which any word is given as a respond
• Average amount of time that elapses before a response is given
• Number of respondents who do not respond to a word

• Sentence Completion- respondents are  directed to complete a number of sentences with the first words that come to mind

• Advantage over word association that the respondent can be provided with a more direct stimulus

• Storytelling- relying on a picture stimulus- the subject is asked to tell a story

• This helps the researcher interpret the respondents values and beliefs

• Role Playing: a researcher will introduce a scenario and or co text and as respondents  to play the type of a person or a scenario

Chapter 9: Collecting Descriptive Primary Data

• Descriptive Research Purposes:

• To describe the characteristics of a certain group
• To determine the proportion of people who behave a certain way
• To Make Specific Predictions

• Descriptive data become useful for solving problems only when the process is guided by one or more specific research problems, quite often exploratory research to clarify and develop hypothesis

• Descriptive studies can be rigid- require clear specific scenarios on the who, what, when, where, why and how

• Two Types of Descriptive Studies;

• Cross- sectional study: involving a sample of elements selected from the  population of interest that are measured at a single point in time
• Longitudinal Study: Involves a panel, which is a fixed sample of elements that is measured repeatedly  over time
• Longitudinal analysis : Consumer Panels

• Continuous Panels-  a fixed sample of respondents who are measured repeatedly  over time with respect to the same variables\

• Each panel member is repeatedly measured with respect to the same characteristics

• Discontinuous  Panel- a fixed sample of respondents who are measured repeatedly over time but on variables that change from measurement to measurement
• One advantage: continuous  panels over discontinuous panels allow time series analysis

• Advantages and disadvantages:

• Panels are probably the best format for collecting detailed demographic information, such as a respondents, age, income and education levels
• Cross sectional- limited in respect , because respondents being contacted for the first and only time are rarely up to giving lengthy interviews

• Panels on the other and- respondents are being compensated to they are more involved
• Panel Data more accurate, especially when it comes to measuring purchasing behavior
• Cross sectional respondents are asked to repeat and recall and report last behaviors, this leads to errors and people tend to forget

• Panel- the behavior can be recorded

• Many disadvantage of panels is that they are nonrandom and or no representative

• Most have cooperation rates of less than 50 percent

• Cross sectional analysis: Sample Survey

• First, provides a snapshot of the variables of interest at a single point in time, as an opposed to a series.
• Second, the sample of elements is typically selected to ne representative of some know universe, or population

• Great deal of emphasis is placed on selecting sample numbers with the probability sampling plan

• Sample Survey- sample is selected to be representative of the target population and in which the emphasis is on the generation summary statistics  such as averages and percentages

• Two advantages over panel:

• Very specific  populations can be targeted and the member s of those populations recruited to participate in the survey
• Ability to use probability sampling plan that will allow the results of the sample to be project to the overall population

• Mangers more concerned about the answers that apply to everyone rather than only the people who provided the info

• Types of Primary Data:

• Demographic/Socioeconomic

• Characteristics such as: age, education, occupation, income
• Variables are often used to cross- clarify collected data to help interpret consumers Reponses

• Often used to divide population into groups
• Often used as a basis for market segmentation

• Personality/lifestyle Characteristics(psychographic)

• Characteristics: personality traits, activities, interests and values.

• Personality- normal patterns of behavior exhibited by an individual; attributes traits and mannerisms that distinguishes individuals
• Lifestyles- How individuals live, what interests them, their values and what they like

• Attitudes- refer to an individual’s evaluation of something

• Generally Thought to lead to behaviors
• Because attitudes influence behavior, marketers want to shape attitudes or target people wit  favorable attitudes
• Marketers often want to learn people’s attitudes towards product categories, brands, products, services and websites
• Measure attitude like variables- value quality and satisfaction

• Awareness/Knowledge

• Insight into or understanding of facts about, some object or phenomenon

• Respondents do and do not believe about some product brand, company, advertisement and so on
• Three types of memory tests- used to measure awareness

• Unaided recall- without given any clues, consumers are asked to recall what advertising they have seen recently

• With no clues, recall is presumed to have made a deep impression
• Highest level of awareness

• Aided Recall—Consumers are prompted, typically with a category cure, they’re asked to remember ads/brands that they have seen products and services for a particular category

• Presence of cues makes it easier

• Recognition- actual advertisements, brand names, and logos are show or described

• Low level of awareness

• Intentions- Anticipated or planned future behavior

• Marketers often need this type of information to asses demand for a product or service- regard to purchase behavior
• Estimating demand for products and services accurately is one of the most difficult tasks a marketing researcher faces.

• Example: def. buy, probably buy, undecided, prob wont by, def won’t buy

• Motivation

• Motive- a need, a want, a drive, a witch, a desire an impulse, or any inner state that energizes, activates, moves directs or channels behavior toward a goal
• If we understand what drives consumer behavior, we are in better position to anticipate consumer needs and offer products and services that satisfy those needs.- marketing concept

• Determine why people behave the way they do
• By understanding what drives a person’s behavior, it is easier to understand the behavior itself

• Behavior- What subjects have done or are doing

• This usually means purchase and behavior use
• Behavioral data might be obtained by observing behaviors or by asking consumers to remember and report their past behaviors.

• Scanner Data- effective ways of tracking consumer behavior

• Higher emphasis on this type of data

Chapter 10- Collecting Data by Observation

• Communication- A method of data collecting involving questioning respondents to secure the desired info using  a data collection instrument called a questionnaire

• Versatility- collect info on the different types of primary data.
• Speed and cost- communication is often a faster means of data collection than observation; you don’t have to wait for behaviors to occur
• Objectivity and Accuracy-

• Observation- method of data collection in which the situation of interest is watched and the relevant facts, actions or behaviors are recorded

• Objectivity and Accuracy- you can almost always gather behavioral data more accurately using observation because observation techniques usually don’t depend upon the respondents willingness and ability to provide the information needed

• It doesn’t depend on respondents memory in reporting what occurred and usually produces more objective data

• Why use observation research?

• Observation is often the best method for generating valid data about individuals’ behavior.

• Examples of Observation Research

• Direct Observation- which means watching the actual activity
• Indirect Observation- in which the outcomes of the behavior are observed, rather than the behavior itself

• Observation of Human Behavior

• Benefits:

• Communication with respondent is not necessary
• Data not distorted by self-report bias (e.g., without social desirability)
• No need to rely on respondents’ memory
• Nonverbal behavior data may be obtained
• Certain data may be obtained more quickly
• Environmental conditions may be recorded
• May be combined with survey to provide complementary evidence

• Limitations:

• Cognitive phenomena cannot be observed
• Interpretation of data may be a problem
• Not all activity can be recorded
• Only short periods can be observed
• Observer bias possible
• Possible invasion of privacy

• Limitations in observation in general

• Observation can describe the event that occurred but cannot explain why the event occurred.
• Observation over long periods is expensive or even impossible.

• Structured vs Unstructured Observation

• Structure- the degree of standardization used with the data collection instrument
• Structured Observation- method of observation in which the phenomena to be observed can be defined precisely align with the categories to record the phenomena
• Unstructured Observation- in which the researcher has great deal of flexibility in terms of what to note and record

• More likely to be used in exploratory research

• Advantages and disadvantages of structured observation:

• Advantages:

• Reduces the potential for bias and increases the reliability of observations
• The coding and analysis of the data is far more simpler where there are few well defined behaviors to be considered
• Observing direct behavior.
• Allows control of extraneous variable.
• Reliability of results by repetitive study.
• Provides a safe environment to study continuous concepts

• Disadvantages:

• Control can effect behavior.
• Observer Bias.
•  Imposing of irrelevant framework.
• Not possible to know intentions behind behavior.

• Advantages and disadvantages of unstructured observation

• Advantages:

• Broad overview of the situation and conditions prevailing in the society.
•  Useful when subject matter is clear.

• Disadvantages:

• Broad overview of the situation and conditions prevailing in the society.
•  Useful when subject matter is clear.

• Disguised versus undisguised observation

• Disguise- the amount of knowledge people have about a study in which they are participating
• Undisguised observation- subjects are aware that they are being observed
• Disguised observation- subjects not aware that they are being observed
• Mystery observation:

• Mystery shoppers might be used to gauge the aesthetics and appeal of baked goods displays.

• Ethics of disguise

• Debriefing- process of providing appropriate info to respondents after data have been collected sing disguise

• Natural versus contrived setting for observation

• Natural setting- subjects are observed in the environment where the behavior normally takes place

• Study only the activities that normally go into the process in a normal setting

• Shopping in a store
• Using or consuming a product at home

• Errors in natural setting: Observer Bias

• A distortion of measurement resulting from the cognitive behavior or actions of a witnessing observer.
• Recording events subjectively
• Recording events inaccurately
• Interpreting observation data incorrectly

• Contrived setting- subjects are observed in an environment that has be specially designed for recording their behavior

• Fake store or computer simulation
• Primary advantage of the laboratory experiment is that researchers can control outside influences that might affect the observed behaviors

• You also don’t have to wait for events to occur but instead ask the participants to engage in whatever behavior you want to study                

• Human  versus Mechanical Observation

• Human observation- individuals are trained to systematically observe a phenomena and to record on the observational form the specific events that take place

• Researchers commonly use written field note to record their impression at the time they are observed in the field and later write up a summary of thoughts
• Ethical Issues involving human observation:

• Respondent’s right to privacy
• Contrived observation as entrapment

• Researchers feel comfortable collecting observational data if:

• The observed behavior is commonly performed in public where others can observe the behavior.
• The behavior is performed in a setting that assures the anonymity of the person being observed.
• The observed person has agreed to be observed.

• Pros: 

• Flexible
• Directly measures behavior
• Gives researcher “insider” view
• Allows for morphing of study
• Open-ended

• Disadvantages:

• Time consuming
• Difficult to record everything
• Subjective
• Participants may not act in true nature
• Hard to be an “insider”
• Invasive & intrusive
• Not generalizable
• Can’t measure cognitive or affective

• Electrical or mechanical observation- an electrical or mechanical device observes a phenomena and records the events that take place

• Examples of mechanical observation:

• Video cameras
• Bar code scanners
• Response latency- The amount of time a respondent deliberates before answering a question. Uncertainty in the answer
• Galvanometer- used to measure the emotion induced by exposure to a particular stimulus by recording changes in the electrical resistant of the skin associated with the tiny degree go sweating that accompanies emotional arousal
• Voice-pitch analysis- Analysis that examines the changes in the relative frequently if the human voice accompanied by arousal
• Eye camera- study the eye movements while he or she is reading advertising copy
  

• Simple bar-code scanner

• Bar codes are scanned billions of times a day; each item scanned is potential data for market researchers to analyze

Chapter 11- Collecting Data by communication

• Structured vs unstructured communication

• First decision is how much structure to use on the questionnaire

• Structure refers to how much standardization is used with the data collection technique
• In a highly structured questionnaire, the questions to be asked and the response categories provided to the respondents are completely standardized.

• Everyone receives the same questions, and everyone responds by choosing from among the same set of possible answers
• They are known as fixed alternative questions- questions in which the responses are limited to stated alternatives

• Open-ended question- a question in which respondents are free to reply in their own words rather than being limited to choosing from among a set of alternatives
• Advantages and disadvantages of high structure

• Advantages:

• Simple to administer
• No need for extensive interviewer training, no follow up questions
• Greatly simplifies data coding and analysis
• Greater reliability or consistency in the answers obtained

• Disadvantages:

• Fixed alternative questions tend to encourage misleading answers
• Difference between low and high structure is that low structure allows respondents to more precisely communicate responses- aren’t forced
• Response categories  introduce bias

• Disguised versus undisguised bias

• Disguise- The amount of knowledge people have about a study in which they are participating.
•  Disguise is useful when:

• Knowing the purpose or sponsor is likely to bias respondents’ answers.
• Re-creating the natural environment is necessary, particularly in experimental research.

• Methods of Administering Questionnaires

• For each general method, we consider three aspects

• Sampling control- ability of a particular method to identify and obtain responses from a sample respondents from the target population
• Information control- the number and types of questions that can be used and the degree to which researchers and or respondents might introduce error in their answers or interpretations
• Administrative   control- resource issues such as the time and money costs of the different  approaches

• Personal Interviews- direct, face to face conversation between a representative of a research organization, the interviewer and a interviewee

• Generally high sampling control (higher response rates)
• Great flexibility, but higher level of interviewer bias
• Time and cost intensive
• Mail intercepts- a method of data collection in which interviewers in a shopping mall stop or interrupt a sample of the passing by to ask them if they are willing to participate

• Popular because researcher is typically in a place where people naturally gather

• Telephone interview- telephone conversation between a representative of the research organization, the interview, and the interviewee

• Obtaining a sampling frame, reaching respondents, and getting them to respond is becoming much more difficult
• Limited ability to handle anything complex
• Becoming less cost efficient
• Random-digit dialing (RDD)

• A technique used in studies using telephone interviews, in which the numbers to be called are randomly generated.

• In-bound surveys

• A method of data collection in which respondents access a survey by telephone or on the Web to respond to survey items.

• Pros:

• Reasonable response rates
• Relatively fast
• Opportunity for clarification

• Cons:

• Not suited for detailed surveys
• Hard to reach a representative sample
• Interviewer bias
• Relatively expensive

• Mail Survey- a survey administer by mail to designated respondents with an accompany cover letter. The respondents return the questionnaire by mail to the research organization

• Lower degree of sampling control (mailing lists often available, but no control over who completes survey, and often low response rates)
• No interviewer bias and can offer anonymity, but less flexibility (no explanation or follow-up, no complex materials)
• Lower cost than personal or telephone interviews
• Pros:

• Assures anonymity of the respondent
• Not subject to interviewer bias
• Low cost

• Cons:

• No opportunity for clarification
• Relatively slow
• Response rate is low

• Online Survey

• A method of administration that relies on the web for completing a survey
• Explosion in use over the past decade
• Email lists and panels are readily available, but it’s difficult to know who you are really contacting; response rates are often very low
• Good flexibility, visuals and complex material possible
• Usually quick and inexpensive
• Pros:

• Fast
• Inexpensive
• Not subject to interviewer bias

• Cons:

• No opportunity for clarification
• Low response rate
• Potentially nonrepresentative samples