Running head: SURVEY RESEARCH

Survey Research, its weaknesses and possibe ways to !ini!i"e the!

Harshad #arayan $aradkar
Strat%ord University, &a Church
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SURVEY RESEARCH
Abstract
Research is a very co!pe( activity and a whoe ot o% data needs to be deat with) *he researcher
needs to gather data %ro! a kinds o% sources) *here are various ways in which the researcher
gathers data and Survey research is one o% the !ethods o% procuring the data) +e discuss in this
paper what actuay Survey research is, and what are its disadvantages) +e wi aso discuss what
are the ways in which we can overco!e the disadvantages)
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SURVEY RESEARCH
Survey Research, its weaknesses and possibe ways to !ini!i"e the!
*he researcher wi need to gather data %ro! various sources) -t can be %ro! historica
data, anay"ing %acts and %igures, etc) So!eti!es the researcher hi!se%.herse% has to be the too
or instru!ent o% research, ike in /uaitative research) 0ne other way to gather data is Survey
Research)
Survey Research
-n a survey research, what the researcher actuay does is that he.she creates a ist o%
/uestionnaire reated to the research topic) *he researcher !ay want to know the views o% the
peope, society, or a group o% peope) So, the researcher %irst e(pains what the research is about
and then presents the! with the /uestionnaire) *he /uestionnaire can contain one or !ore
/uestions which the peope have to answer) +hen they have %inished answering a o% it, the
researcher saves this data and proceeds to another person %or their response) How !any peope to
survey wi depend upon the researcher) +hen the researcher is done with the survey process, the
researcher wi anay"e the data coected) So!e pattern is e!erged which wi give an insight
upon the topic in ter!s o% the peope1s ideas about the topic) Survey research is a very co!pe(
and tireso!e process) *he researcher has to contact each person and ask %or their opinions) A%ter
this, the researcher has to per%or! so!e co!pe( cacuations and derive resuts %ro! it)
Weaknesses of Survey Research
*here are !any weaknesses reated to survey research) So!eti!es the weakness arises in
the %irst stage itse% in the design o% the survey /uestions) -% proper /uestions are not asked, it wi
not be abe to capture what needs to be actuay procured) Aso, surveys are dependent on the
instant you carry out the survey) -% you carry out a survey at so!e instance and again carry out
the sa!e survey at so!e ater instant o% ti!e, we !ay not get the sa!e resuts %ro! the sa!e
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SURVEY RESEARCH
persons) Conditions change, and the opinions about a particuar thing change) Hence, we cannot
carve out the resuts o% surveys in history books, because as per the 3reek phiosopher
Heracitus: *here is nothing per!anent but change) Another i!portant thing to consider which
!akes the surveys weak is that it is the peope1s response that we are gathering) +e are not
gathering data %ro! so!e hard %acts %ro! books, or history) So, we cannot guarantee that the
person answering the /uestions wi be truth%u in their opinions) So!eti!es, peope aso get
in%uenced and do not provide correct responses) -% a person is presented with certain
ob4ectionabe /uestion to answer, we are not guaranteed to have a '556 true response)
&urther!ore, the /uestions !ay not be understood or !ay be !isinterpreted by the
peope answering the survey) Aso, what i% the respondent wants a particuar option to be present,
but is not present in the survey7 *his wi %orce the person to ook %or another option, which does
not re%ect the true nature o% the %acts) &or e(a!pe, the ony options avaiabe are Yes and #o) -%
the person answering wanted to answer ike 8 So!eti!es, or !aybe, he won1t be abe to do so)
Surveys are aso very in%e(ibe) Suppose we want to add, deete or edit a deete a
particuar /uestion) +e won1t be abe to do so because the survey was aready started and we
cannot backtrack)
So!eti!es the researcher can in4ect bias into the survey by in%uencing the person giving
the survey) -% the researcher is asking /uestions in a %ace to %ace !anner, the researcher !ay
%righten and %orce the person to give a certain response) Aso, the researcher can induce bias by
%asey conducting !utipe copies o% the sa!e survey the!seves, or hire peope to give their
responses !utipe ti!es) *he researcher can produce the resut which he desires)
Aso, so!eti!es i% the survey is an onine survey, we are not guaranteed to get a arge
vou!e o% responses) *he peope wi try to ignore i% they are presented an onine survey) As per
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SURVEY RESEARCH
3roves, %or a survey to succeed, it !ust !ini!i"e the risk o% two types o% error: poor
!easure!ent o% cases that are surveyed :errors o% observation; and o!ission o% cases that shoud
be surveyed :errors o% non<observation;)
Ways to overcome weaknesses
=uid on E(isting -nstru!ents is one way by which we can ei!inate so!e aspects o%
weakness o% a survey) +hat it !eans is that researchers so!eti!es create a /uestionnaire in haste
and send it out to conduct surveys) =ut be%ore doing that, we shoud anay"e i% so!e e(pert has
given any suggestions on asking such type o% /uestions on that particuar topic) >ook out %or
/uestions which were previousy asked and take cue %ro! it)
*est your /uestions on a %ew peope be%ore you present it actuay to the peope) -n the
testing phase see i% peope are abe to understand what you are trying to ask) *his wi ei!inate
the possibiity where peope !isunderstand the /uestion asked, and end up giving wrong
%eedback)
0ne other probe! %aced was that peope tend to ignore the onine surveys) So, try to
!ake the survey !ore attractive so that peope don1t tend to ignore at the very %irst sight o% it)
*ry to gain attention o% the peope towards the survey) *ry to e(pain the cause and the resut that
wi be obtained i% they answer the survey)
*ry to anay"e what are the possibe responses peope can give to a /uestion) *ry to
acco!!odate !ost o% the responses possibe to a /uestion) *his wi re%ect the true %acts and
what the peope were actuay %eeing about the /uestion asked)
*ry to be as si!pe as possibe) ?o not try to con%use the peope) ?o not use co!pe(
Engish phrases and sentences) *he researcher shoud aso avoid ?oube<=arreed @uestions)
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SURVEY RESEARCH
+hat we !ean by ?oube<=arreed @uestions is that we ask two /uestions in a singe sentence,
but e(pect a singe answer to it) &or e(a!pe: -s #okia and Sa!sung your %avorite brand7
?o not in%use bias into your survey) &irsty, the researcher shoud conduct %air practices
whie conducting the surveys and shoud aso not in%uence the peope participating in the survey
to produce a certain output)
&ence<sitters are so!e respondents who are not true to the %acts and provide %ase
responses) *here is a techni/ue which we can use to %ish out such respondents by in%using a
&ence sitting /uestion to identi%y such peope)
Aso, so!eti!es peope try to get away by being sociay !ora beings by showing
the!seves to be idea persons) -% a /uestions is asked ike this: Have you ever been to Bai %or a
co!!itting a cri!e7 wi !ost o% the ti!es not yied actua %acts) So, try to re%ra!e such
/uestions so that it does not ook and %ee insuting and abusive)
-% you can give away the survey !ethods, you can choose to obtain responses %ro! other
!odes ike: Caied Surveys, where the respondents are !aied the /uestionnaires, and they %i
out their responses as they %ee and what they %ee) 3roup<Ad!inistered Surveys are another
aternatives to survey researches) &or e(a!pe, surveys conducted in schoos)
Conclusion
Survey research is a great way to get responses o% peope) +e can reach out to a wide
range o% peope, and aso to peope who are distanty ocated) Surveys can be conducted in
various ways) -t can be done in traditiona ways by individuay interviewing each person and
obtaining their responses) -t can aso be conducted by contacting the! on the *eephone) $rinted
/uestionnaires can be !aied to peope and then coected) Core advanced aternative is the
onine survey research syste!s) +e can create onine surveys which peope can access onine
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SURVEY RESEARCH
and sub!it it onine itse%) *he resut is sent to our account, and we can aso have the data to
anay"ed and presented in graphica %or! by the appication) Athough surveys have so!e
weaknesses, they can be overco!e to a certain e(tent, or their aternatives can be chosen)
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SURVEY RESEARCH
Re%erences
SA3E $ubications) Survey Research) Retrieved %ro! http:..www)sagepub)co!.up!<
data.92AFGHF)pd%
>eedy, $au ?) :,5'2;) $ractica research: panning and design . $au ?) >eedy, Beanne Eis
0r!rod)I'5th ed) Pearson Education, Inc., 'FG<'G')
+yse S) :,5',, #ove!ber 'D;) Advantages and Disadvantages of Surveys) Retrieved %ro!
http:..www)snapsurveys)co!.bog.advantages<disadvantages<surveys.
Sincero S) Advantages and Disadvantages of Surveys) Retrieved %ro!
https:..e(porabe)co!.advantages<and<disadvantages<o%<surveys
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