TALKING ABOUT SURVEYS!!

For the first REVA PRODUCT

LET'S TALK ABOUT SURVEYS.

DEFINITION: 
http://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?tranword=survey 

survey  [ˈs3ːveɪ]

AN

1(=study) estudio m
to make a survey of housing in a town estudiar la situación de la vivienda en una ciudad

2(=poll) encuesta f
to carry out or [conduct] a survey realizar una encuesta
they did a survey of a thousand students hicieron una encuesta a mil estudiantes

3(esp Brit)[of land] inspección f, reconocimiento m; (in topography) medición f; [of building, property] tasación f, peritaje m; (=report to purchaser) informe m de tasación, informe m de peritaje
to have a survey done (of property) mandar hacer una tasación

4(=general view) visión f global, vista f de conjunto
he gave a general survey of the situation dio una visión global or de conjunto de la situación

Bs3ːˈveɪ VT

1(=contemplate) contemplar, mirar
he surveyed the desolate scene miró detenidamente la triste escena
he was master of all he surveyed era dueño de todo cuanto alcanzaba a dominar con la vista

2(=study) estudiar, hacer un estudio de
the report surveys housing in Glasgow el informe estudia la situación de la vivienda en Glasgow

3(=poll) [+ person, group] encuestar [+ town] hacer una encuesta en, pulsar la opinión de [+ reactions] sondear
95% of those surveyed believed that ... el 95% de los encuestados creía que ...

4(=inspect) [+ building] inspeccionar [+ land] hacer un reconocimiento de; (in topography) medir; (=map) [+ town] levantar el plano de

5(=take general view of) pasar revista a
the book surveys events up to 1972 el libro pasa revista a los sucesos acaecidos hasta 1972.

Personal interviews are a way to get in-depth and comprehensive information. They involve one person interviewing another person for personal or detailed information. Personal interviews are very expensive because of the one-to-one nature of the interview ($50+ per interview). Typically, an interviewer will ask questions from a written questionnaire and record the answers verbatim. Sometimes, the questionnaire is simply a list of topics that the research wants to discuss with an industry expert. Personal interviews (because of their expense) are generally used only when subjects are not likely to respond to other survey methods.

Telephone surveys are the fastest method of gathering information from a relatively large sample (100-400 respondents). The interviewer follows a prepared script that is essentially the same as a written questionnaire. However, unlike a mail survey, the telephone survey allows the opportunity for some opinion probing. Telephone surveys generally last less than ten minutes. Typical costs are between four and six thousand dollars, and they can be completed in two to four weeks.

Mail surveys are a cost effective method of gathering information. They are ideal for large sample sizes, or when the sample comes from a wide geographic area. They cost a little less than telephone interviews, however, they take over twice as long to complete (eight to twelve weeks). Because there is no interviewer, there is no possibility of interviewer bias. The main disadvantage is the inability to probe respondents for more detailed information.

Email and internet surveys are relatively new and little is known about the effect of sampling bias in internet surveys. While it is clearly the most cost effective and fastest method of distributing a survey, the demographic profile of the internet user does not represent the general population, although this is changing. Before doing an email or internet survey, carefully consider the effect that this bias might have on the results.

RESULTS ANALYSIS.

The survey process does not end at formulating a conclusion based on the results of the study. The final step in utilizing the survey method is the presentation of survey findings. In presenting survey results, you must be able to deliver the findings to the audience as accurate and stimulating as possible.

The presentation of survey results is an integral part of survey research because it is the path towards communicating the results to the appropriate individuals, organizations or government agencies that can take action regarding the results of the survey. Presenting survey results involves the introduction and background of the survey, the methodology or data collection process, the presentation and analysis of results and the conclusion and recommendations.

Getting the results

collate and analyse data | collate and analyse questionnaire results | present your results

How to analyse questionnaire responses

If the group used an online survey, the software will automatically collate the data – someone will just need to download the data, for example as a spreadsheet.

If the group used a paper questionnaire, someone will need to manually transfer the responses from the questionnaires into a spreadsheet. Put each question number as a column heading, and use one row for each person’s answers. Then assign each possible answer a number or ‘code’.

Go through each respondent’s questionnaire in turn, adding in the codes. Enter this data into a spreadsheet. See below for an example of what this might look like.

Once the group has entered the data from all the questionnaires into a spreadsheet, it is a good idea for someone else to check some of the data for accuracy. If there are many errors, consider checking more of the data.

When the group is happy that all the data is present and correct, calculate how many people selected each response. The young researchers could count this up manually, but it is easier to let the spreadsheet do the work, by adding a filter to each question within the spreadsheet.

Once the group has calculated how many people selected each response, the young researchers can set up tables and/or graph to display the data. This could take the form of a table or chart, for example:

If there are enough questionnaires, the group could look at whether there is any variation in the way that different types of people responded. For example, they might look at just the girls’ responses, compared to just the boys’ responses. If you have a small number of questionnaires, be wary of doing sub sample analysis because the results are likely to be misleading.

Once the young researchers have analysed all the data, they should discuss what story the data is telling, and what it means in terms of the research questions.