Poor guy....Useless research data.

Trying to spend every cent of your market research money on useless results? Of course not. Instead, read these interesting research outcomes comparing telephone and Internet based data collection methodologies. The Market Workshop, Inc. has found some points to consider when choosing between the two.  Read on, and click the link at the end to see research data.

With the increased use of the Internet as a means for data collection by market researchers, greater attention is being given to differences between Internet and telephone samples. Several factors can contribute to differences between the two – lower adoption rates of the Internet among lower-income households, the growth of cell phones, which are not accessed by RDD telephone procedures, and the fact that Internet surveys are self-administered at the convenience and leisure of the respondent.

Since 2005, we have conducted an A&U tracking study in 12 DMAs for a national CPG client. In order to ascertain the impact of switching the data collection methodology, parallel surveys were conducted in each market, completing 200 interviews by Internet using an established household panel, and 100 by telephone with a randomly-selected sample.

Be sure to consider the following points when choosing your methodology:

1. Both telephone and Internet-based methods of data collection may not be representative of your target audience – phone because the younger age groups are under-represented with the prevalence of cell phones as well as not being as responsive to surveys as their older counterparts.

2. Never switch from one method of data collection to another without a parallel study to determine which differences may be due to methodology and which are due to changes in the marketplace. By splitting the sample (half phone and half Internet) the phone portion provides current tracking data against which to compare past efforts while the Internet portion provides a base against which to measure future Internet findings.

3. Consider what measures are most needed for your study. If unaided measures are most important, it may be that the phone methodology works best. However, if aided measures such as brand ratings are most important, then the Internet may be the preferable methodology for speed, timing and access.

4. Consider the purpose of the research in choosing between phone and Internet. One example is that a self-administered Internet survey may be more objective and provide better answers if there is some degree of hesitancy of verbalizing a fear or comment on a sensitive subject (such as sex or gun control or employee attitudes). Also, there may well be situations where expanded, thoughtful answers are desired.

5. Whether the methodology is phone or Internet, over time the measures will move in the same direction. However, absolute changes should not be compared across methodologies.

The Market Workshop, Inc. research data

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009, 10:43 am   |   Research  |  RSS feed |  Respond  |  Trackback