the research process%2c surveys%2c questionnaires interviews

8/9/2019 The Research Process%2c Surveys%2c Questionnaires Interviews

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The research process,surveys, questionnaires &

interviews

Communication Research

Week 3


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Communication Research Spring 2005 2

Steps in the research process 1) Establish the need for research

2) Define the problem

3) Establish research objectives

4) Determine research design

5) Identify information types and sources

6) Determine methods of accessing data


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Steps in the research process 7) Design data collection forms

8) Determine sample plan and size

9) Collect data

10) Analyse data

11) Prepare final research report


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The research process

Purpose ofthe study

ExplorationDescription

Hypothesis

Types ofinvestigation

Establishing:

Causalrelationships

Correlations

Group differences,ranks etc

Extent ofresearcher

interference

Minimal: Studyingevents as theynormally occur

Manipulationand/or control

and/or simulation

Studysetting

ContrivedNon

contrived

Measurement& measures

Operational defn

Items (measure)Scaling

Categorising

Coding

Unit of

analysis (popto be studied)

Individuals

Dyads

Groups

Organisations

Machines

Samplingdesign

Probability/non

probability

Samplesize (n)

TimeHorizon

One-shot(cross-

sectional)

Longitudinal

Data-collection

methodObservation

Interview

Questionnaire

Physicalmeasurement

Unobtrusive

Data-analysis

1.Feel

for data2.Goodness

of data

3. Hypothesis

testing

DETAILS OF STUDY MEASUREMENT


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The Classical Ideal of Science

Generalization

Theories

Hypotheses

Observation

Deduction

OperationalizationMethod &

measurement

Induction


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Deductive vs Inductive Reasoning

DEDUCTIVE

Argues from the general

to theparticular Eg you observe that all

deciduous trees lose

their leaves

You therefore reason

that your bare tree is

deciduous

INDUCTIVE

Argues from the

particularto the general Eg if you burn one finger

on a hot stove

You therefore reason

that you could burn all of

them


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Preparing an hypothesis or

research question An hypothesis is a reasonable scientific

proposal or a statement of expected results

It is not a statement of fact but a declarativestatement which tells the reader what you are

going to do NOT how you plan to do it

An hypothesis is common to scientific researchmethodologies while qualitative research more

commonly uses research questions to focus


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Writing a hypothesis A well written hypothesis

Is stated in declarative form

Posits a relationship between variables

Reflects a theory or body of literature upon

which it is based

Is brief and to the point Is testable


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Developing an hypothesis An hypothesis should be developed from a well-

researched body of knowledge which is both

logical and feasible eg Inland waterways are becoming polluted through fuel

discharge from petrol-driven powerboats

Powerboats are noisy thus creating auditory pollution

Alternatives to petrol engines exist Electric (battery-powered) boats will decrease pollution on

inland waterways


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Ideas, questions & hypothesesResearch Interest or

Ideas

Research Problem or

Questions

Hypothesis

Open classroom and

academic success

What is the effect of open vs

traditional classrooms on reading

level?

Children taught reading in open classroomsettings will read at a higher grade level thanchildren taught reading in a traditionalsetting.

Test-taking skills and

grades

Will students who how to take a

test improve their scores?

Students who receive training in the HereToday Gone Tomorrow method will scorehigher on the SATs than students who do not

receive the training.

Television and

consumer behaviour

How does watching television

affect buying behaviour of

adolescents?

Adolescent boys buy more of the productsadvertised on television than do adolescent

girls.

Drug abuse and child

abuse

Is drug abuse related to child

abuse?

There is a positive relationship between drugabuse among adults and their physical andpsychological abuse as children

Adult care How have many adults adjusted tothe responsibility of caring for their

aged parents?

The number of children who are caring fortheir parents in the childs own home hasincreased over the past ten years.


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Rats & scientific research


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Problems with asking questions as

evidence(from Vance Packard (1956) The Hidden Persuaders)

1. You cant assume that people know what they want

In a survey of male drinkers the men expressed a

strong preference for a nice dry beer. Wh

en th

eywere then askedhow a beer could be dry, they were

stumped.Those able to offer any answers at all

revealed widely differentnotions.


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Problems with asking questions

as evidence(from Vance Packard (1956) The Hidden Persuaders)

2. You cant assume people will tell you the truth about

their wants and dislikes even they know them.

Psychologists at t

he McCann-

Erikson ad agencyasked a sampling of people why they didnt buy one

clients product kipperedherring.The main reason the

people gave under direct questioning was that they just

didnt like the taste ofkippers. More persistent probing

h

owever uncovered th

e fact th

at 40% of th

e peoplewho said they didnt like kippers hadnever in their

entire lives tastedkippers.


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Problems with asking questions

as evidence(from Vance Packard (1956) The Hidden Persuaders)

3. It is dangerous to assume that people can be trusted to

behave in a rational way.

A test was designed to establish the influence of the

package on the product. It gave housewives three differentboxes filled with detergent and requested that they try them

all out for a few weeks and then report which was the best

for delicate clothing (Note: actually only the boxes were

different, the detergents were identical one box was

predominantly yellow; the second was blue and the third wasblue with splashes of yellow).

Result: the detergent in the yellow box was too strong, in

the blue box it left the clothes dirty and in the blue and yellow

it was fine and wonderful.


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Survey research

Purpose is to determine the current

status of a population with respect toone or more variables

Can be qualitative or quantitative,

depending on data sought


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Advantages of surveys Inexpensive

Can obtain current information

Enable the researcher to obtain a great deal of

information at one time

Provide quantitative or numerical data

Very common and so some of the info you seekmay have already been gathered eg ABS


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Problems with surveys People often dont tell the truth, especially

about personal matters

People make mistakes about what theyvedone

Obtaining representative samples is frequentlydifficult

People often refuse to participate Relatively small percentages of people answer

and return questionnaires

Writing good survey questions is difficult


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Self-administered

questionnairesADVANTAGES

Inexpensive

No interviewer bias to worryabout

You can ask about very

personal matters

You can ask complex, detailed

questions

DISADVANTAGES

People may misinterpret

questions

Low response rates the norm

You dont know who actually

filled out the questionnaire

Sampling errors frequent


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Stages of a survey 1. Define your information needs

what information? purpose of information? who knows the answers?

practical issues eg time

2. Carry out background research what work has been donebefore in this area?

3. Choose a survey technique

questionnaires diaries individual interviews group discussions


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Stages of a survey 4. Define and test your methodology

Open or closed questions? Pre-test questions Ordering of questions

Trial questioning techniques

5. Administer your survey consider any problems By mail/email Is target group representative? Were all questions answered satisfactorily?

6. Analyse your results Did enough people reply?

Is target group representative?

Were all questions answered satisfactorily?


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Stages of a survey 7. Present your findings

Usually in report format

Outline parameters of survey critically

Do your results prove or imply results?

Acknowledge limitations eg time, sample size,

demographics of sample etc


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Problems with Survey Research Inadequate response

Including unrelated items on questionnaire

Poorly worded items

Complex items

Leading questions

Assuming facts not necessarily inevidence

Analysing open-ended questions


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Problems with Survey Research People often dont tell the truth about

themselves

People make mistakes even if they aretrying to tell the truth eg ratings books

Obtaining representative samples is

difficult Relatively small percentage of people

answer and return questionnaires


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Survey & Questionnaire design When designing a survey or questionnaire you

need to consider the type of question which will

give you the most accurate data There are five main types of questions

1. Close-ended questions which use yes/no

responses

Q. I have good communications with my supervisor

A. Yes No


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Survey & Questionnaire design 2. Open-ended questions which allow the

respondents to give an unlimited answer

Q. What problems are you having with your supervisor?


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Survey & Questionnaire design 3. Checklist which present a list of items where

participants are asked to check those items that

apply to their particular situation.Q. Please check the following types of communications that you

have with your supervisor.

Informal meetings Afterhours discussions

Formal meetings Telephone

Written reports Social gatherings

Emails Committee meetings


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Survey & Questionnaire design 4. Multiple-choice questions which offer several

choices and the respondent is asked to select

the most correct one. Ensure the choicespresented cover all the possible options.Q. How often do you purchase items from the company vending

machines?

a) Once a day

b) 2-3 times a day

c) 3-5 times a day

d) 6 or more times a day


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Survey & Questionnaire design 5. Ranking scales which require the participants

to rank order a list of items.

Q. Of the following list of five types of communication that youmight have with your supervisor, rank from 1 (mostimportant) to 5 (least important).

Formal meetings

Informal conversations

Written reports

Letters or emails

Telephone discussions


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Survey & Questionnaire design 6. Likert scales which usually measure attitude toward a

concept or idea. It allows the respondent to indicate thedegree of agreement usually on a 5 or 7 point scale.

Q. Please indicate the degree to which you agree or disagree with thisstatement. The 1995 Ford Falcon is a substantial improvement on the1994 model.

Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly

nor disagree Disagree

5 4 3 2 1


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Survey & Questionnaire design 7. Semantic differential scales measures attitudes by displaying

pairs of opposite terms and asking respondents to check whichterm best describes their feeling toward the concept or topic.

Q. Place an X in the space between the two terms that best describes how you seethe XYZ Corporation Office.

XYZ CORPORATION DISTRICT OFFICE

[the topic or entity being evaluated]

Pleasant - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - Unpleasant

Efficient - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - Inefficient

Not helpful - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - Helpful

Professional - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - Unprofessional

Insensitive - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - Sensitive

Friendly - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - Unfriendly

S l o w - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - F a s t

Rigid - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - Flexible


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Other types of qualitative

research depth interviews

one-on-one interview which is relatively

unstructured with a subject by a trained

interviewer.

The direction of the interview is guided

by the responses to the questions


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Other types of qualitative research

personal interviewsADVANTAGES

Interviewer can explain Qs in

detail

Interviewer can use a variety of

data collection methods

Interviewer can spend a lot of

time with respondents

You know who is answering the

questions

A higher likelihood of achieving

the desired response rate

Not intimidating

DISADVANTAGES

Can be intrusive (too personal)

Time-consuming and expensive

Hard to find people in sample at

times

People are reluctant to answer

some questions

Needs well-trained interviewers Possible language barriers


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research focus groups

Often used in market research

A group is asked a series of structured

questions and guided through

structured sessions

Designed to probe their attitudes and

feelings about a range of issues


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research projection techniques Such as word association tests, sentence and

story completion, cartoon tests, consumer

drawings, photo sorts These techniques belong to the field of

clinical psychology

They are designed to probe and penetrate a

persons defense mechanisms and allow true

feelings to emerge


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