Survey data collection is important for gathering results during different kinds of research. With the rise of online survey tools, it gained even more popularity. It is used in market research, HR research, customer experience, employee satisfaction evaluation, and many more.
Are you new to collecting data and don’t know where to start?
Everything affects data collection, from survey design and how you word your questions to the methods you will use during the result analysis. So, if you’re planning on doing quality survey research and want to collect data accurately, read our article and learn about different data collection methods!
What is survey data collection?
Survey data collection is the process of gathering feedback from a certain group of people whose opinion or experience is relevant to your field of research. These are data collected in a survey that you will, later on, analyze in an attempt to draw valuable conclusions.
Collecting information through a survey can be done in various research fields and for many different purposes. Therefore, you can substantially improve your business by using suitable data collection methods and data analysis techniques.
Survey data collection methods - how can you collect feedback?
There are four main survey research methods that are used to gather information. These include:
- Online surveys
- Face-to-face surveys or in-person interviews
- Telephone surveys
- Paper surveys
Online surveys - an easy and cost-efficient way of gathering information
Out of all data collection methods, online surveys are the most efficient. Nowadays, online questionnaires are used in many research fields, such as market research and other kinds of customer research.
The pros of the questionnaire method of data collection are numerous, but the most prominent ones are its cost-efficiency and the number of answers you can gather. Online surveys can reach a much larger number of people compared to any other type of questionnaire, which makes them a popular survey research method.
Additionally, if you choose an affordable online survey tool, the cost of conducting your research minimizes greatly. Unlike other survey software, SurveyPlanet offers you access to an unlimited number of surveys, questions, and answers. All you need to pay is a low monthly fee, which will practically be your only cost during every research!
Distributing online questionnaires is easy, providing you with real-time data. You don’t need to print out papers, hire staff, or provide a place where the research will be conducted. Instead, the whole process is done through a couple of clicks, and your research is ready to begin!
Online surveys can be posted on your website or embedded and shared via email. They are convenient for participants because they can answer them anytime. The option for answers to stay anonymous can increase your response rate and provide more honest answers.
Of course, online surveys also have their cons. These are the so-called sampling and non-sampling survey errors. However, you can easily avoid them with thorough knowledge and good practice.
Face-to-face surveys or in-person interviews
In-person interviews are much more expensive, time-consuming, and demanding than online surveys. When conducting an in-person data collection questionnaire, you need well-trained interviewers who will carry out the research without fault.
This means that you first need to hire personnel and then pay for their training if needed. Additionally, this process is time-consuming because it requires you to dedicate time to every respondent individually.
However, there is a great advantage of face-to-face interviews, and that is the accuracy of the gathered results. Respondents tend to provide more honest feedback when talking face-to-face with the interviewer. Also, the interviewer can clarify any doubts regarding the questions and see how the participants react regarding a certain topic.
Telephone surveys - an inexpensive but challenging method
This type of data collection is much cheaper than in-person interviews ‒ it can cost roughly the same as conducting an online survey or a little bit more. It also requires trained personnel, but you can reach more respondents than by in-person interviews.
The main disadvantage is that it can be challenging to establish a friendly relationship with the respondents. When the research is done by phone, the participants tend to feel unsure about the interviewer’s liability, which can affect the results or even their desire to participate.
Paper surveys - the old-school method of gathering feedback
If you’re wondering how to collect survey data when you can’t rely on the accessibility of the internet, paper surveys are the answer.
Paper questionnaires are the oldest survey data collection method. They can be a valuable addition to online questionnaires because, with them, you can collect feedback from respondents who don’t use the internet.
This type of survey research can be done at a certain place and time, but this is costly, time-consuming, and limits the number of responses you can gather. Namely, you must arrange and pay for the venue and staff and print the papers out. Additionally, not all respondents will be able to come.
Paper surveys can also be mailed by post, but this adds to your expenses, extends the research time, and can result in data collection errors. However, if you use paper surveys in your research, combining these two would give the most comprehensive result.
Survey data collection based on the frequency
Data collection surveys can also be divided based on the frequency of their administration or the period of time during which they are conducted. From this perspective, we recognize different types of studies and different types of survey data.
Cross-sectional data collection is done by distributing a survey questionnaire to members of a sample at the same point in time. For the results to be thorough and accurate, the sample should consist of people with different demographic backgrounds.
After all the answers are gathered, it is time for data analysis, where the researcher compares the responses of different subgroups using crosstabulation and filtering.
Longitudinal data collection isn’t done at a certain point in time but is rather conducted over an extended period of time. It can be qualitative or quantitative and is a part of studies that can last for years.
During the retrospective data collection, the participants are asked to give information about an event or experience that occurred in the past.
Data collection survey example and when to use survey research
The questionnaire method of data collection can be used in many research fields, and in each of them, it has a valuable role in gathering information and accomplishing your research goals.
In market research, they help you learn about your customers’ preferences so that you can develop your business in the right direction.
By conducting market research, customer satisfaction, or customer loyalty survey, you can determine your strong and weak points. Use this knowledge to develop your brand awareness, increase sales, retain your old customers and gain new ones.
HR surveys help you assess your employees’ satisfaction at work and improve it. Find out how satisfied they are with their work-life balance, employee benefits, company culture, and the company’s leadership, and improve your workplace for optimal productivity.
Data collection can also be used in the public sector, education, healthcare, and many other fields. SurveyPlanet offers you different examples you can choose from, so explore our website and learn everything there is to know about making surveys!
How to make and conduct a good survey?
Knowing how to collect survey data properly will help you avoid errors and gain the most valuable feedback that you can use to your advantage.
Which online survey software you use while making a survey is crucial. From the visual aspect to the survey questions you ask, every little detail is essential and can significantly affect the respondents’ answers and the conclusions you draw from your research.
Here’s what to look out for when choosing your survey platform and making the survey:
1. Pay attention to the design of your survey
If you want your surveys to be successful and have high response rates, they need to be visually appealing. At Survey Planet, you can find numerous beautiful pre-made themes ready for you to use, or you can make your own custom theme and tailor it to your own needs!
2. Choose your questions wisely and word them properly
The questions are a vital part of your survey. To gather accurate information, you need to choose appropriate questions and word them unambiguously.
The best tip is to use both open-ended and closed-ended survey questions. When asking a question, make sure you are using clear and unambiguous language. If you need help starting out, sign up to SurveyPlanet and explore our sample questions!
3. Search for additional features for exceptional surveys
The most common reason for low response rates and inaccurate data is too long surveys. As a result, people lose interest and exit the survey or answer the questions randomly just to finish quickly.
One of the many features SurveyPlanet offers to its users is question branching ‒ a skip logic feature that helps you ask relevant questions to each respondent and skip the irrelevant ones.
Data collection analysis - the last step of your research
Before starting with the statistical treatment of data for survey, you must know that not all data you gather will be relevant. There will always be some incorrectly filled answers, and some respondents may even give random answers to your questions.
Having this in mind, data cleaning is the first and most crucial step in every statistical analysis of questionnaire data. When cleaning your data, pay attention to:
- Straight-lining where the respondent chose the same response to every question
- Duplicate responses or people that filled the survey twice
- Incomplete surveys
- Contradictory answers
- Fastest respondents
- Outliers or answers that differ significantly from the rest or are not logical
When you’ve cleaned your data, it is time to analyze it. SurveyPlanet offers many features that will help you thoroughly and accurately analyze your survey data. These include crosstabulation, result filtering, and result exporting.
Sign up to SurveyPlanet and learn how easy making surveys and collecting and analyzing data can be!
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