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Survey Research

Knowing what your customer wants is a key factor to success in any type of business. One of the best ways to find this information is to conduct a survey.

What are the Steps in a Survey Research Project?

  • Establish the objectives of the project — What is it you want to learn?
  • Determine your target — Whom is it you want to interview?
  • Choose the interviewing methodology – What is the best means to interview?
  • Creating the questionnaire — What questions should be asked?
  • Pre-test the questionnaire, if practical – This is to test the comprehension and flow of the questionnaire.
  • Conduct interviews and enter data – Actually administer the asking of questions.
  • Analyze the data using the proper analysis software statistical tools.
  • Produce the report(s) – Select the best style and format to facilitate understanding.

Establishing Survey Research Goals

Jeff Anderson Consulting will work closely with you to help you clarify the goals and outcomes you are looking to obtain from your survey research. The established goals will determine whom to survey and what to ask. If the goals are unclear, the results will probably be unclear.

Some typical goals include learning more about:

  • The potential market for a new product or service
  • Ratings of current products or services
  • Employee attitudes
  • Customer/patient satisfaction levels
  • Reader/viewer/listener opinions
  • Association member opinions
  • Opinions about political candidates or issues
  • Corporate images

The more specific the goals, the more successful it will be to get usable answers.

Selecting the Sampling Frame

There are two main components in determining whom to interview: The target population and how many people to interview. Jeff Anderson Consulting knows how to draw a small, representative sample that will be reflective of the entire target population from which it is drawn.

 

Avoiding a Biased Sample

A biased sample will produce biased results. Totally excluding all bias is almost impossible; however, Jeff Anderson Consulting knows bias exists and that the consequences of a source of bias is dependent on the method of survey research.

Sometimes, to ensure that a sample accurately reflects relevant sub-groups in a target population, quotas may be established. For example, men and women may have somewhat different opinions in many areas. To insure the survey will accurately reflect the general population’s opinions, we may want to ensure that the percentage of men and women in your sample reflect their percentages of the general population.