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Typically, a sample survey consists of the following steps:
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Define the target population
The target population may be divided into various segments which may have differing characteristics. For example, all television owners may be divided into three to four income brackets.
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Select the sampling scheme and sample size
There are several sampling schemes: simple random sampling, cluster sampling, sequential sampling, satisfied sampling, systematic sampling, and non-probability sampling. Each scheme has its advantages and limitations. The sample size, other things being equal, has a bearing on the reliability of the estimates – the larger the sample size, the greater the reliability.
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Develop the questionnaire
The questionnaire is the principle instrument for eliciting information from the sample of the respondents. The effectiveness of the questionnaire as a device for eliciting the desired information depends on its length, the types of questions, and the wording of questions. Developing the questionnaire requires a thorough understanding of the product / service and its usage, imagination, insights into human behavior, appreciation of subtle linguistic nuances, and familiarity with the tools of descriptive and inferential statistics to be used later for analysis. It also requires knowledge of psychological scaling techniques if the same are employed for obtaining information relating to attitudes, motivations, and psychological traits. Industry and trade market surveys, in comparison to consumer surveys, generally involve more technical and specialized questions.
Since the quality of the questionnaire has an important bearing on the results of market survey, the questionnaire should be tried out in a pilot survey and modified in the light of problems / difficulties noted.
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Recruit and train the field investigators
Recruiting and training of field in investigators must be planned well since it can be time – consuming. Great care must be taken fir recruiting the right kind of investigators and imparting the proper kind of training to them.
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Obtain information as per the questionnaire
Respondents may be interviewed personally, telephonically, or by mail for obtaining information. Personal interviews ensure a high rate of response. They are, however, expensive and likely to result in biased response because of the presence of the interviewer. Mail surveys are economical and evoke fairly candid responses. The response rate, however, is often low. Telephonic interviews, common in western countries, have very limited applicability in India because telephone tariffs are high and telephone connections few.
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Scrutinize the information gathered
Information gathered should be thoroughly scrutinized to eliminate data which is internally inconsistent and which is of dubious validity. For example, a respondent with a high income and large family may say that he lives in a one – room tenement. Such information, probably inaccurate, should be deleted.
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Analyze and interpret the information
After tabulating it as per a plan of analysis, suitable statistical investigation may be conducted, wherever possible and necessary. For purposes of statistical analysis, a variety of methods are available. They may be divided into two broad categories: parametric methods and non- parametric methods. Parametric methods assume that the variable or attribute under study conforms to some known distribution. Non-parametric methods do not presuppose any particular distribution.
Results of data based on sample survey will have to be extrapolated to the target population. For this purpose, appropriate inflationary factors, based on the ratio of the size of the target population to the size of the sample studied, will have to be used.
Problems
A market researcher in India has to contend with the following problems:
- Heterogeneity of the country
- Multiplicity of languages
- Design of questionnaire
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Participants