Chapter 7

Data Collection: Survey and Observation

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this chapter, you will be able to:

• Learn about survey method of data collection and classification of survey methods
• Understand the comparative evaluation of different survey methods
• Learn about advantages and disadvantages of different survey techniques
• Understand different observation techniques and classification of observation methods
• Learn about advantages and disadvantages of observation

7.1 INTRODUCTION

The main purpose of any data collection method is to enhance the decision-making ability of a decision maker. Obviously, data collection methods may be many. Broadly, we can classify them into human method of data collection and mechanical method of data collection. No matter what the technique of data collection is, precision is the prime objective of a data collection technique. Human method of data collection involves face-to-face data collection or mail or telephone method. Mechanical methods are also very common these days. Mechanical methods involve computer-generated methods for data collection. “Who” collects the data is not relatively less important than “what” type of data is collected. Data can be broadly classified as primary data and secondary data. We have already discussed secondary source of data collection. This chapter is an attempt to launch a discussion about some primary data collection methods. This chapter focuses on some survey and observation methods of data collection and their relative advantages and disadvantages.

7.2 SURVEY METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

Survey means gathering information through respondents for any pre-established research objective. In most of the scientific research, this information is obtained from a representative sample of the population. In a survey method, a structured questionnaire is given to the respondents and the information is obtained. This information pertains to some demographic characteristics, attitudinal aspects, intentions, and awareness of the respondents participating in survey. Survey also covers overall assessment of a respondent about any object and his or her favourable or unfavourable opinion about it. Decisions are also the topic of research; the focus is not so much on the results of decisions in the past but more on the process by which the respondents evaluate things (Aaker et al. 2000). Measuring the respondent behaviour mainly involves seeking answers of “what,” “when,” “where,” and “how often” about a research phenomenon. For example, a talcum powder company can launch a survey to assess “what” attributes consumers want, “when” they purchase talcum powder, “where” is the source of purchase, and “how often” consumers purchase the product. Further statistical analysis attempts to answer “why” part of the research objective through establishing a “causal” relationship. For example, after obtaining the necessary information through survey, a researcher can develop a causal relationship in terms of “why” a particular brand of talcum powder is preferred over any other brand.

Like any other method of data collection, the survey methods have several advantages and disadvantages. The first advantage of the survey lies in the fact that this method gives an opportunity to the researcher to collect data at one time. The second advantage is its ability to generate some standardized information as the same questionnaire is administered to different respondents more often on same time. In addition, each respondent is also presented with the same categories of responses. For example, a survey to unfold consumer attitude through a structured questionnaire provides similar questions with similar response categories (points in rating scale) to all the respondents. Fixed response options eliminate the variability in responses due to interviewer. This method generates standardized information. Third advantage of the survey method is its suitability for data coding, tabulation, analysis, and interpretation. Especially increasing use of statistical software has made the process of coding, tabulation, analysis, and interpretation relatively much easier. Fourth advantage is the ease in administering the questionnaire.

The survey method of data collection also has some disadvantages. The major disadvantage is to handle the unwillingness of the respondents to provide responses. The unwillingness of the respondents may be due to the reasons such as their unawareness about the survey matter, information such as their income status obtained through the survey may be related to prestige of the respondents, and so on. In such cases, the respondents refuse to cooperate and do not provide any information and sometimes provide wrong information. Second disadvantage of the survey methods is the fact that the individual characteristics of the interviewer or the way of presentation of the questionnaire or the way of asking questions makes a big difference in getting the responses. So, there is a great possibility of variation in the responses as they are generated from different interviewers. In spite of these limitations, this is a widely used technique of data generation in the field of marketing research.

7.3 A CLASSIFICATION OF SURVEY METHODS

This section focuses on a classification of survey methods by the mode of administration. Broadly, the four methods are personal interview, telephone interview, mail interview, and electronic interview. Each of these survey methods can be further classified into different categories by the mode of administration. Figure 7.1 presents a broad classification of survey methods.

FIGURE 7.1 A broad classification of the survey methods

7.3.1 Personal Interview

As the name indicates, personal interview is a method of data collection through contacting a respondent personally. Naturally, there may be different ways of contacting the subjects (respondents). These ways can be classified on the basis of the respondents to be contacted and the means to contact them. Accordingly, personal interviews can be broadly classified into six categories: door-to-door interview, mall intercept interview, office interview, self-administered questionnaire, omnibus survey, and computer-assisted interviews.

7.3.1.1 Door-to-Door Interview

Door-to-door interview is a traditional technique of getting the responses from the respondents at their home. In this technique, the interviewer contacts the respondents at their home in person and seeks a face-to-face interview. Principally, door-to-door interview technique is ideal as it allows the respondents to provide answers in a familiar, safe, and comfortable home environment. This gives an opportunity to an interviewer to uncover some real facts and figure that otherwise is very difficult to obtain. It sounds well that the respondent must be contacted at home, but it is very difficult in terms of execution. People do not want strangers to enter their homes. Nowadays, people are busy at their work place and their jobs require much time. Hence, generally a respondent does not want to share his or her time at home with anyone. This poses a great deal of difficulty for an interviewer who is supposed to visit the respondent at his or her home when the latter is reluctant to share his or her leisure time with anyone, especially an unknown person. To find an interviewer at his or her door when he or she answers the door bell can be very unpleasant for many individuals as this hinders their routine or ­leisure activities such as watching a movie with the family. In spite of these difficulties, for demonstration of product at home with interview, in-home product tests and conduction of long in-depth interviews, the door-to-door interview technique is the only viable alternative available to a researcher.

7.3.1.2 Mall Intercept Interview

In mall intercept interview technique, a respondent who actually is a visitor to a shopping mall is intercepted by the interviewer for obtaining responses. The interviewers stationed at the entrance of the shopping mall or any other pre-specified location invite the respondents to participate in a structured interview. After introduction of shopping malls in almost all the big cities in India, this technique of survey has become very popular. Cost-efficient approach of collecting data is a major advantage of this type of interview. In addition, due to the limited coverage space, a researcher can control the interview up to some extent which otherwise is extremely difficult when the respondents are scattered in a big geographic area. A researcher can also use efficiently a big respondent pool available at different mall locations.

Mall intercept interview technique is easy to execute, but it also has some major disadvantages. Principally, the response rate is assumed to be higher, but in practice the response rate happens to be very low. The reason is very simple. The respondents come to the malls for shopping and not for answering the questions. Especially in India, where visiting shopping malls is treated as a fun activity with the family, interruption of any kind is not welcomed by anyone. Sometimes malls are not the true representative of the population as usually mall visitors in countries like India are not the common people. For example, a soap company has introduced a special 2-rupee reduction offer and will like to know the consumer attitude on the price cut. Consumers of soap are in millions and they may welcome the price cut. It is always possible that the mall visitors will be indifferent to this price cut, and assessing their opinion about the price cut would not provide any support in making strategic decision. In mall intercept interview technique, there is a great possibility that the interviewer will try to contact a respondent who looks friendly, and this results in a respondent selection bias. Finally, interview in a crowded place sometimes generates a great difficulty for the researcher.

7.3.1.3 Office Interviews

An interviewer conducts an office interview at the work place of the respondents.

When the research objective is to unfold the consumer attitude of any industrial product or services, then probably home interview technique will not be able to generate accurate responses. Office interviews are usually conducted after taking prior appointment from the interviewee. In an organization, various categories of employees can provide a variety of information. A researcher can focus on these different categories of employees to generate the responses in the light of a specific research objective. For example, for assessing the attitude of a user of an industrial product like a big weighing machine, machine operator must be contacted. A manager will not be able to provide the desired information. Similarly, for unfolding the machine purchase intentions, the machine operator will not be able to provide the desired information. For this purpose, a decision maker in the organization must be contacted.

7.3.1.4 Self-Administered Questionnaire

In self-administered questionnaire, no interviewer is involved. A series of questions are presented to the respondents without the intervention of the interviewer. For example, hotels generally present a series of questions to the respondents to ask about their services. While absence of intervention of the interviewer makes this interview technique bias-free from the interviewer’s angle on the one hand, a personal clarification to some of the questions of the survey by the interviewer is completely missing on the other. So, answer to some of the difficult-to-understand questions will always be suspicious as it is affected by the interpretation of the respondent.

7.3.1.5 Omnibus Surveys

Omnibus surveys are regular schedule-based personal interviews where a series of questions are provided by the clients of the survey-conducting company. The schedule of the survey conduction may be weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, six monthly, yearly, or any other specific time interval decided by the survey-conducting company. The questionnaire consists of a series of questions on some diverse research topics where each set of question is provided by different clients. As a form of continuous marketing research, such surveys are conducted at regular intervals and cover a range of topics, usually for a number of different clients (Marshall 1995). Omnibus surveys have many advantages over other techniques of survey. This technique is cost effective as the cost of conducting the survey is shared by the clients. Second advantage of omnibus surveys is that the procedure of conducting the survey is standardized and schedule based. Expertise of the survey-conducting company facilitates to collect a variety of data based on the need of the researcher. For example, the need of data for before and after study can be easily fulfilled through omnibus survey technique as respondents can be easily tracked. The respondent’s unwillingness to answer because of monotony and boredom is a major disadvantage of this survey technique.

7.3.1.6 Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) Techniques

Computer-assisted techniques of collecting data have become increasingly popular. CAPI is an increasingly popular method of data collection for large, scale household survey of the general population (Couper 1994). CAPI is a type of personal interview technique where the respondents provide their response inputs directly through a computer terminal by using a keyboard or a mouse. There are several advantages of this survey ­technique. Graphical display associated with the question presents a good opportunity for the respondents to understand the questions well. This technique also allows catering to the response time a respondent is taking to answer a question. This gives an opportunity to a researcher to understand which questions are difficult to answer. This technique also allows a researcher to incorporate the follow-up questions more easily. The respondents directly provide answers and hence, this technique of conducting survey also provides an option to reduce time spent in data collection and coding. The major disadvantage of this method is the lack of personal touch to the process, which can be provided by the interviewer in a personal interview. Table 7.2 presents the advantages and disadvantages of different personal interview techniques.

TABLE 7.2 Advantages and disadvantages of different personal interview techniques

7.3.2 Telephone Interview

Increasing popularity and easy availability of telephone facility have changed the survey techniques in the field of marketing research. As the number of telephones increase, it might be expected that the telephone interviews would assume greater role as an approach to data collection (Ibsen and Ballweg 1974). Few researchers (e.g. Wilson 2007) argue that the ­procedure of data collection through telephone is both reliable and valid compared with the collection through mail questionnaire. Telephone interviewing technique can be classified into four categories: personal interview using telephone, fax survey, voice mail survey, and computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI).

7.3.2.1 Personal Interview Using Telephone

In personal interview using telephone, the interviewers ask a series of questions to the respondents and record the responses on the questionnaire papers. These days most of the telephone interviews are conducted from a centralized location where the telephone lines are specifically set up for conducting the surveys. This method of conducting interview also has various advantages. The telephone interviews when conducted through a central location give an opportunity to a researcher to control the interview process and help the interviewer when required. As compared with the personal interview technique, the telephone interviews are cost efficient as these eliminate the cost incurred in travelling. Personal interview using telephone is not free from limitations. One of the serious limitations of telephone personal interview is the inability of the interviewer to have face-to-face communication with the respondent. A face-to-face communication provides a personal relationship opportunity to an interviewer that completely diminishes when an interviewer talks to a respondent as a stranger. Another limitation of this type of interviewing technique is the “non-response” of the respondent. A common respondent gets plenty of calls on his or her phone or mobile. Hence, in a personal interview using telephone, it becomes very difficult for an interviewer to explain to the respondent the seriousness of his or her survey technique. The respondent finds great deal of difficulty in understanding the importance of the survey as he or she seems to be generally reluctant to receive telephone calls. Explaining some difficult questions is equally difficult for the interviewer. The telephone surveys are also unable to deal with a situation when a product demonstration is extremely important.

7.3.2.2 Fax Survey

Fax machines in organizations are now very common. For quicker response and cheaper cost, many researchers use fax survey. The researchers generally make a phone call intimating the respondents about the survey matter and then send the questionnaire to the respondents by a fax machine. When the researcher does not get any response in a week or two, he makes a follow-up call and tries to get the responses from the respondents. To get a quick response, the researchers generally use the fax survey method. This is a relative advantage of this method over mail survey method as the latter requires more time to get the response. Traditionally, fax messages are treated as urgent, and there is a possibility that the response may be speedy, which is not valid for the mail survey.

There are some disadvantages to the fax survey method. After the widespread penetration of computers with e-mail facility, the use of fax machine as a survey instrument is reducing. In some cases, the quality of the questionnaire received by the respondents happens to be poor through a fax machine. Fax survey method is not suitable for household survey as the fax machines are rarely found in houses. Although it is probably premature to consider fax as a practical means of collecting data from the consumer households, it can be used now for research with industrial, commercial, or institutional respondents (Kumar et al. 2001).

7.3.2.3 Voice Mail Survey

Voice mail survey is a completely automated telephone survey method where fixed-response questions are posed to a respondent through a pre-recorded voice of the professional interviewer and the respondent is supposed to press the telephone buttons to register the responses. The biggest advantage of this method is its ease for the respondent to be able to provide the answer about the questions related to household consumable items. Non-human interaction is the major disadvantage of this method of survey. There is no one to help the respondent when he seeks some clarification related to some of the questions of the questionnaire. In addition, this process is completely mechanical and lacks the personal touch of the interviewer.

7.3.2.4 Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) Technique

Advances in computer technology allow the telephone interviewers to enter the responses directly into a computer in a process known as “computer-assisted telephone interviewing” (Moghaddam and Moballeghi 2008).

While conducting the CATI, an interviewer sits at the computer terminal that shows the questionnaire. The interviewer reads each ­question displayed on the screen, gets the respondent’s answer, and then inputs the responses. This method allows an interviewer to feed the responses directly, in computer, which ultimately saves time and cost and minimizes the mistakes committed by the computer operator when feeding the data. CATI enables one to reach more number of subjects and records the answers instantly, minimizing errors of recording (Ketola and Klockars 1999).

The major disadvantage of the CATI technique is its inability to contact important mobile respondents. Due to their job-related mobility, these respondents find themselves uncomfortable to cope with the CATI. They find themselves comfortable with the e-mail survey technique, as this technique allows them to answer from anywhere any time and does not restrict their freedom. Table 7.3 presents advantages and disadvantages of different telephone interview techniques.

TABLE 7.3 Advantages and disadvantages of the different telephone interview techniques

7.3.3 Mail Interview

In a mail survey, the questionnaire is sent to the respondent through mail and the respondent returns the filled questionnaire (providing his opinion about the questions). In this type of survey method, a questionnaire with a cover letter is sent to the potential respondent. The respondent after filling the questionnaire sends back his replies in an envelope, usually provided by the interviewer. In the mailing survey technique, the rate of return is a matter of concern. Researchers apply many techniques such as providing short questionnaire, providing postage paid return envelopes, and sometimes providing incentives to fill the questionnaire. Some researchers favour providing some incentives to the respondents. Others believe that the incentive type has no impact on the return of the survey (Church 1993). Mail surveys, traditionally known as paper-and-pencil surveys, have several advantages and disadvantages. As far as advantages are concerned, they generally provide accurate results because the respondent has enough time to think and respond. The respondent, if willing, can also take necessary support from other persons and because of the absence of interviewer, bias due to interviewer can also be controlled. Before the use of computers in conducting survey, the mail surveys used to be comparatively cost efficient. Use of computer technology in survey has got an edge over mail survey in terms of cost cutting. Another advantage of the mail survey is its ability to cover an extensive geographic area as compared with the personal interview technique. The use of computer in the survey has also reduced this advantage of mail survey, as the computers can cover relatively high geographical area in low cost. In the disadvantages side, the mail surveys have low response rate as compared with the personal interviewing and telephone interviewing techniques. Return time is not guaranteed in the mail surveys as the respondent may take weeks or months to respond. On the one hand, non-absence of the interviewer reduces the interviewer bias, on the other hand, it eliminates the possibility of explanation of difficult-to-understand question by the interviewer. Inflexibility is another major disadvantage of mail surveys as the answers cannot be altered once mailed. Follow-up is also difficult in these surveys. They can be broadly classified in two categories: one-time mail survey and mail panel.

7.3.3.1 One-Time Mail Survey

In some cases, when the interviewer wants only one-time response from the respondent and continuous information gathering is not desired, one-time mail survey is used. Reduced cost as compared with the personal interview is one major advantage of this type of survey. Non-response is a major disadvantage. In a nutshell, the advantages and disadvantages of the one-time mail survey are almost the same as those of the mail surveys.

7.3.3.2 Mail Panel

Mail panel is a group of respondents who have agreed to participate in the survey conducted by the research agencies related to some business issues. The researchers create the mail panel to generate continuous responses on certain research issues related to marketing research. To have a representative sample in the panel, the researchers collect a lot of demographic information and other types of information and then make a conscious decision to have right respondent in the panel. As the respondents have already agreed to provide the response, the response rate happens to be high in mail panel survey technique. Through a mail panel, same respondent can be contacted repeatedly and hence, it is an appropriate technique of data collection for a longitudinal research design. Table 7.4 exhibits advantages and disadvantages of different mail interview techniques.

TABLE 7.4 Advantages and disadvantages of different mail interview techniques

7.3.4 Electronic Interview

Electronic interview techniques are basically of two types: e-mail interview and web-based interview. Electronic interview techniques are becoming very popular and will have a key role in marketing research in the near future. This is because of many advantages electronic interviews offer over traditional interview technique.

There seems to be a consensus that the electronic surveys in general are less expensive than the traditional mail surveys because they do not involve printing, folding, envelope stuffing, and mailing cost (Cole 2005). In addition, non-involvement of the interviewer eliminates the possibility of bias due to the interviewer. The obtained input data are also of superior quality in this technique. Electronic surveys are also excellent facilitators in launching international and cross-cultural research programmes. Collecting data for international or cross-cultural studies is an expensive and difficult exercise to execute. Deficiencies of traditional survey are exacerbated for research on global competitiveness issues that require international data gathering activities; however, they can be mitigated, if not completely eliminated, by using dynamic web-based survey methods (Bonometti and Tang 2006). Electronic interviews also allow a researcher to have a proper follow-up. The following section discusses two commonly used electronic survey techniques: e-mail interview and web-based interview.

7.3.4.1 E-Mail Interview Technique

In an e-mail interview technique, the researcher sends the questionnaire to the respondents by an e-mail. The respondents key in their answers and send the e-mail back to the researcher. As discussed, time and cost efficiency, wide coverage, and quick response are the major advantages of this technique. The major disadvantage is the lack of computer facility ­penetration in households. Use of the e-mail interview technique is reducing as the ­web-based interview techniques are becoming popular.

7.3.4.2 Web-Based Interview Technique

Web-based interview techniques involve posting of the survey material on a particular website. Respondents login the website and provide their answers. Marketing research firms ­generally maintain databases of respondents who are supposed to participate in the web-based interview technique. In other method of finding the respondents, the research firms contact the respondents and request them to participate in the web-based survey. Andrews et al. (2003) argued that the web-based surveys are superior to the e-mail surveys in many aspects but that e-mail combined, perhaps with offline media, is an excellent vehicle for inviting individuals to participate in the web-based surveys. Inclusion of graphical display and sound in the web-based survey is an advantage over the e-mail interview technique. It has also got all the other advantages of electronic interview techniques. However, web-based surveys are also not free from some noticeable limitations. Inspite of the increasing popularity of computers in day-to-day use, computer-literate respondents are less in number. This makes the sample selection non-representative as only those who have got the access to computer systems can participate. It is very difficult for the interviewer to uncover the profile and status of the respondent, which is a phenomenal fact in conducting any research. Some researchers also claim that some cultural factors seem to be responsible for low response rate for the web surveys as compared with the traditional survey techniques. Al-Subaihi (2008), in a study conducted in Saudi Arabia, found that the restricted use of Web survey is due to some cultural factors (i.e., thoughts among people and across certain gender) and not due to technical infrastructure (geographical coverage). Table 7.5 exhibits advantages and disadvantages of different electronic interview techniques.

TABLE 7.5 Advantages and disadvantages of different electronic interview techniques

7.4 EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR SURVEY METHODS

As discussed in the previous section, various methods of survey are available. A researcher often faces a dilemma as to which method of survey should be adopted. Hence, it becomes important for the researcher to evaluate all the survey methods on some pre-established criteria. This section presents an evaluation of the survey methods on the basis of 11 parameters: cost, time, response rate, speed of data collection, coverage area, bias due to the interviewer, quantity of data, control over fieldwork, anonymity of the respondent, question posing, and question diversity. Figure 7.2 exhibits evaluation criteria for various survey methods.

FIGURE 7.2 Evaluation criteria for various survey methods

7.4.1 Cost

In case of personal interview, the cost of conducting survey remains very high. For conducting an interview, the interviewer has to prepare a questionnaire and travel extensively for personally contacting the respondents. This makes the process very costly. This cost is very low in case of conducting personal interview through electronic means. Cost is mainly curtailed due to non-travelling mode of conducting survey. Cost is moderate in case of conducting personal interview by telephone. Few years ago, the cost of conducting personal interview was not as low as in recent times in India. Easy availability of mobiles has changed the scenario like anything. Even cost of making a call is dramatically reducing, making the telephone mode of survey cheaper than mail survey. In India, using government postal services is not very costly. It is a costly affair if the researcher wants to use private courier services. In broad sense, personal interview is the costliest of the four techniques with electronic interview as the cheapest. Telephone interview and mail interview are in between the personal interview and electronic interview in terms of cost.

7.4.2 Time

It is obvious that personal interview technique takes long time to operate and complete. Similarly, mail survey technique also takes more time to complete. Sometimes it takes more time than personal interview as the respondents have no time limit to reply. Though the researcher mentions the time limit, it is ultimately up to the respondent whether he or she will complete and send it on time. Electronic surveys are less time consuming as the mode of operation is electronic and not manual or postal. Telephone survey techniques are moderate to low time consuming. When an interviewer gets immediate response, this technique is less time consuming. In cases where interviewer does not get immediate response from the potential respondent, the technique becomes moderate time consuming. Many times the ­interviewers make many calls to fix an appointment to conduct surveys. This makes the process time consuming but less time consuming than the personal interview and electronic interview ­techniques.

7.4.3 Response Rate

For personal interviewing techniques, response rate is usually higher. Telephone interviewing techniques generate moderate to high response rate. This technique faces the problem of non-response or no answer. Response rate in the telephone interviewing technique increases when an interviewer makes a proper follow-up. Response rate of the mail survey can be separately discussed in the light of the response rate of two mailing techniques: one-time mail survey and mail panel. For a typical traditional mail technique, the response rate happens to be very low, but in the mail panel the response rate increases as the interviewer is in continuous touch with the potential respondents. So, for the mail panel survey technique, the response rate is high. Electronic interview techniques have low response rate. Between the two electronic survey techniques, the web-based surveys have lower response rate as compared with that of the e-mail survey technique. It has already been discussed that for enhancing the response rate of the web-based interview techniques, this must be supplemented by traditional mail, e-mail, or any other technique for providing prior information about the purpose of the survey to the respondents.

7.4.4 Speed of Data Collection

In case of personal interview, speed of data collection remains slow, as the interviewer has to spend time with the respondents and then has to devote time for data feeding and compiling. Telephone interview provides an opportunity to collect data at fast rate. Specifically, CATI technique generates data at a very fast rate. Mail interviews are not able to generate data at fast rate. In fact, this survey technique generates data at the lowest rate among the four discussed techniques of survey. In mail survey technique, sometimes the researcher is able to collect data after several weeks or even after several months of launching the interview programme. Electronic survey techniques provide high rate of data collection opportunity. This is even faster for the web-based interview technique than the e-mail interviewing technique. Printing, mailing, data feeding, and other such activities are not there in web-based survey techniques.

7.4.5 Survey Coverage Area

When using personal interview technique, a researcher has to keep a fact in mind that he or she will not be able to cover a wide geographical area. So, for coverage area-wise, the personal interview technique has limited use. As compared with the personal interview technique, remaining three methods, that is, telephone, mail, and web-based interview techniques, provide a wider area coverage option. Covering a wide geographical area may be costly for telephone interview technique and mail interview technique as compared with web-based interview ­technique. Web-based interview techniques offer a wide range of coverage at low cost.

7.4.6 Bias Due to Interviewer

Bias due to the interviewer is very high in personal interview technique. The interviewer can bias the interview process by intentional wording of questions, wishful and convenient contact to the respondent, and more than that bias the answers while feeding the data. Bias due to the interviewer is moderate in telephone interviewing method. Telephone interviewer can also bias the process by wrong wording and changing the pitch of voice. The remaining two survey methods, mail interview and web-based interviews, are free from the bias due to the interviewer.

7.4.7 Quantity of Data

Personal interviewing technique has the capacity to generate a large amount of data. This technique offers a face-to-face communication opportunity to both the interviewer and the respondents. This facilitates the interview process, and a lot of information can be generated. Remaining three methods, telephone interview, mail interview, and electronic interview, generate moderate quantity of data because these techniques lack face-to-face communication. Out of these three methods, telephone interview has the lowest capacity of data quantity generation because respondent do not feel comfortable answering questions in a lengthy interview. Mail panels can also provide moderate to high quantity of data as the respondents are a pool created by the researcher. Respondents do not feel comfortable with the lengthy questionnaire, hence for getting large amount of data, sending long questionnaire to the respondents has a very limited use.

7.4.8 Control Over Fieldwork

Control over fieldwork is moderate for mall intercept, self-administered questionnaire, omnibus surveys, and computer-assisted personal interviews. This control is often low in door-to-door interview and office interview techniques. Control over fieldwork is moderate in telephone interview techniques. In mail and web-based surveys, fieldwork control problem is eliminated as there is no fieldwork in these techniques.

7.4.9 Anonymity of the Respondent

Anonymity of the respondent is his or her perception that his or her identities will not be disclosed by the interviewer. Personal interviews have the low anonymity of the respondents as most of these offer direct interaction with the respondent. Anonymity of the respondents remains moderate in the telephone interview technique as there is no face-to-face interaction, but there is an interaction that makes the respondent suspicious. Perceived anonymity of the respondents is high in the mail survey as there is no personal or verbal interaction. Web-based interviews have high degree of anonymity of the respondents. As compared with the web-based interviews, e-mails have moderate degree of anonymity of the respondents. In e-mail interaction, the respondents’ identity is disclosed when he or she replies.

7.4.10 Question Posing

Question-posing facility is high in personal interview technique, as face-to-face communication acts as a facilitator in posing and explaining questions. This is moderate in the telephone interview technique. Question-posing facility is low in the mail interview techniques and electronic interview techniques, as it never opens an opportunity to have a personal interaction.

7.4.11 Question Diversity

Asking diverse questions is always convenient in personal interviews. In personal interview, the respondent actually sees the questions. Interviewer is also present to help the respondents in making some clarifications related to some difficult questions. This gives an opportunity to ask diverse questions to the interviewer. In telephone interviews, the interviewer cannot ask such diverse questions as the interviewer reads the questions and marks the answers. In this manner, the respondent has limited response options and gets irritated very soon and terminates the interview from his end. Mail interviews provide moderate opportunity for asking diverse questions. This opportunity is moderate because the respondents do not want to fill a long questionnaire, and they are usually reluctant to respond to a lengthy questionnaire. E-mail interview technique gives a limited option to ask diverse questions whereas the web-based interviewing techniques give a good option to ask diverse questions. Table 7.6 presents comparative evaluation of various survey methods on different evaluation parameters.

TABLE 7.6 Comparative evaluation of various survey methods on different evaluation parameters

7.5 OBSERVATION TECHNIQUES

Observation techniques involve watching and recording the behaviour of test subjects or test objects in a systematic manner without interacting with them. So, observations in research are systematic. Systematic observation represents the ultimate in cheap but good research, which enables one to gather free data found in the environment (Demirdjian 2006). While applying observation techniques, the researcher does not communicate with the subjects and acts as a neutral observer. In observation method, the researcher records the behaviour of the test subjects or test objects using a pencil and paper or does videography. Compared with the emphasis on the survey techniques within the marketing discipline, attention to observational data collection methods is relatively rare (Grove and Fisk 1992). Observation does not often appear as a research methodology in the marketing literature: this may be because it is sometimes hard to quantify the outcomes of observational research at the outset or because it is considered as time consuming, or sometimes it may be difficult to ­generalize the findings (Boote and Mathews 1999). Observation research can be broadly classified as direct versus indirect observation; structured versus unstructured observation; disguised versus undisguised observation; and human versus mechanical observation.

7.5.1 Direct versus Indirect Observation

In direct observation, the researchers directly observe the behaviour of a subject and record it. For example, for observing purchase behaviour of shopper for a tea packet, a researcher can stand in a big grocery store just aside the shelf that contains tea packets. He can systematically record the behaviour of the shoppers such as their first pick (choice) from the shelf; their preference for the hard pack, jar pack, or poly pack; their inclination for a particular brand; impact of price (as the shopper picks a pack and places it back on the shelf after seeing the price); and so on. In indirect observation, the researcher observes outcome of a behaviour rather than observing the behaviour. For example, a researcher can count the number of cups in which tea is consumed in a product demonstration to note the consumer preference for a particular brand or taste.

7.5.2 Structured versus Unstructured Observation

In a structured observation, a clear guideline is provided to the observer as what is to be observed and what is not to be observed. In this type of observational technique, observation is being made on a pre-specified format or checklist. This format itself does not consist the observation points that are not important for the researcher. Structured observation is a suitable technique when the research problem is clearly defined and the information needed from the observation is clearly laid down. As the name suggests, in an unstructured observation, the observer is free to observe what he feels is important for a research. No pre-specified format or checklist is provided to the observer, and he or she almost makes a discretionary decision on what is to be observed and what must be dropped from the observation. In theory, all the behaviour of the subjects can be recorded, but in practice, the observer applies his discretion.

7.5.3 Disguised versus Undisguised Observation

In disguised observation, the subject happens to be unaware that his or her behaviour or action is being monitored by the observer. This type of observational technique is especially used because the subjects will exhibit natural behaviour when they are unaware of the fact that they are being observed by an observer. For example, for making a disguised observation in a big shopping mall, an observer may be disguised as a shopper. In undisguised observation, the subject happens to be aware that he or she is being observed by an observer. There is a debate among the researchers that the undisguised observation can bias the observation process or not. Few researchers are of the view that the undisguised observation can bias the observation process, others say that the observer effect on the observation process is not long lasting.

7.5.4 Human versus Mechanical Observation

Human observational techniques involve observation of the test subjects or test object by a human being, generally an observer appointed by a researcher. Advancement in technology and its appropriateness has reduced the burden of human observers. Mechanical observation techniques involve observation by a non-human device. These devices are many, for example, video camera, voice recorder, eye-movement recorder, scanners, and so on. In the field of marketing research, use of mechanical device has been becoming increasingly ­popular as these devices are free from the bias caused by human observer.

7.6 CLASSIFICATION OF OBSERVATION METHODS

Observation methods can be broadly classified into five categories. These are personal observation, mechanical observation, audits, content analysis, and physical trace analysis (Shao 2002). Following section focuses on the discussion of these five different types of observation methods classified by mode of administration. Figure 7.3 exhibits these different observation methods.

FIGURE 7.3 Classification of observation methods

7.6.1 Personal Observation

As the name indicates, in personal observation, an observer actually watches the subject behaviour and makes a record of it. The researcher never tries to alter the behaviour of the subject but just records it as it happens in front of him. The subject may or may not be aware that his behaviour is being observed by the observer. This type of observation is extremely useful when the subjects are small kids. Perception of the observer is conditioned by his knowledge, and therefore he perceives the event to happen in a certain way (Juma’h 2006). Anyway, personal observation is a practical and useful technique to collect data, specifically in cases where other means of data collection are seemingly not advantageous.

7.6.2 Mechanical Observation

Mechanical observation involves the observation of behaviour of the respondents through a mechanical device. This device may be a video camera, a voice recorder, eye-movement recorder, and other such devices. In modern times, many mechanical devices are available to record the behaviour of the subjects. This is especially important when a researcher has to make continuous observation or when a researcher feels that the human observation will not solve the research purpose. For example, a camera can record the actions of a respondent better than any human being. In addition, the camera has the capacity of observing behaviour of the subjects for a long time as compared with the human observer. In some cases, human observation is not possible. For example, when a researcher, in particular will like to measure the emotional reaction of an individual to a stimuli through his eye pupil movement, the human observation is neither feasible nor practical. In this case, an instrument commonly known as eye-movement recorder is used. This instrument has the capacity of measuring eye movement at a rate of 30 readings per second with respect to any stimuli such as advertisement, shelf display, and so on. Obviously, no human being will be able to match the capacity of this instrument.

7.6.3 Audits

Audit involves examination of particular records or inventory analysis of the items under investigation. In audit analysis, the researchers personally collect the data and usually make the count of the items under investigation. Audit is a highly structured technique and usually is performed personally by an auditor without using a mechanical device. Nowadays some mechanical devices are also used to make an audit. For example, modern libraries use bar-coded books and a laser gun to count the number of books in the library. In the field of consumer behaviour, pantry audit is very popular. In pantry audit, the researcher inventories the items in the kitchen of the subjects while making a personal interview. Pantry audits are capable of handling the problem of biased responses of the subjects as their used items can be counted from their pantry. Though, few researchers argue that the presence of items in the pantry does not guarantee that the subjects are using it. In addition, getting in the pantry of the subjects is a difficult exercise because many subjects may not be willing to allow the researcher into their kitchens.

7.6.4 Content Analysis

Content analysis is a research technique used to objectively and systematically make ­inferences about the intentions, attitudes, and values of individuals by identifying specified characteristics in textual messages (Morris 1994). Content analysis systematically examines the content of communication as an indirect observation and analysis. Malhotra (2004) stated that the unit of analysis may be words (different words or type of words in the message), characters (individuals or objects), themes (propositions), space and time measures (length or duration of the message), or topics (subjects of the message). Marketing researchers generally examine the content of message in print advertisement and electronic advertisement, content analysis for the print articles, and so on. For example, Zhou (2005) has used content analysis to find the usability challenges and cross-cultural difference issues in city tourism website design. By applying content analysis, he examined the content and functions of 55 city tourism websites covering North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa. Through content analysis, he revealed the apparent differences among countries of different economic level as well as culture and suggested to make websites more effective, efficient, and easy-to-use.

7.6.5 Physical Trace Analysis

Physical trace analysis involves collection of data through physical trace of the subjects in terms of understanding their past behaviour. For example, a researcher can count the number of soft drinks consumed in an annual function of a college to understand the inclination of youth for a particular brand. Physical trace analysis is an indirect method of observation as the behaviour is not directly observed, but the outcome of a behaviour is observed. In some cases, physical trace analysis is very useful. For example, the popularity of a website can be analysed by counting the number of times the users have visited the site.

7.7 ADVANTAGES OF OBSERVATION TECHNIQUES

The most admirable advantage of the observation methods is the collection of data on the basis of actually observed information rather than on the basis of using a measurement scale. ­Observation also eliminates recall error as the observation is immediately recorded on the place of observation. Influence of the interviewer on getting answers from the respondents is a major limitation of personal interviewing techniques. Observations are completely free from this bias of personal interview technique as there is no interaction between the observer and the subject who is being observed. Observations also allow an observer to collect data from the group of subjects who are not able to provide written or verbal information. For example, a toy manufacturing company making toys for small kids of age between 1 and 5 years will get the response of kids through observation only. In some ­specific cases, the observation methods prove to be cheaper and faster than other survey methods.

7.8 LIMITATIONS OF OBSERVATION TECHNIQUES

One of the major limitations of the observation techniques is its inability to measure attitude or intentions of the subjects. Another limitation of the observation method is the subjective observation by the observer. A same incident may have three different observations by three different observers. For personal observation, continuous monitoring by the observer is required. Observers often feel fatigue from this long continuous observation, and this results in a biased result. Personal observation techniques require a lot of time and energy to be executed. Disguised observation is sometimes unethical as the subject is unaware that his or her action is being observed by the observer. From a practical standpoint, it is best to view the observation method as a complement to survey methods, rather than to view it as a competitor (Malhotra 2004).

REFERENCES

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Bonometti, R. J. and J. Tang (2006). “A Dynamic Technique for Conducting Online Survey-Based Research”, Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal Incorporating Journal of Global Competitiveness, 16(2): 97–105.

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Juma’h, A. H. (2006). “Empirical and Realistic Approaches of Research”, Inter Metro Business Journal, 2(1): 88–108.

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Kumar, V., D. A. Aaker and G. S. Day (2001). Essentials of Marketing Research, 2nd ed., pp. 228. Wiley.

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Zhou, Q. (2005). “Usability Issues in City Tourism Web Site Design: A Content Analysis”, IEEE International Professional Communication Conference Proceeding, pp. 789–796.

SUMMARY

This chapter focuses on some survey and observation methods of data collection and their relative advantages and disadvantages. Survey is gathering information through the respondents for any pre-established research objective. On the basis of mode of administration, the survey methods can be broadly classified as personal interview, telephone interview, mail interview, and electronic interview. Personal interview can be further classified into door-to-door interview, mall intercept interview, office interviews, self-administered questionnaire, omnibus surveys, and computer-assisted interviewing techniques. Telephone interviews are classified into personal interview using telephone, fax survey, voice mail survey, and CATI technique. Mail surveys can be broadly classified into two categories: one-time mail survey and mail panel. Two commonly used electronic survey techniques are e-mail interview and web-based interview. Survey methods can be evaluated on the basis of 11 parameters. These are cost, time, response rate, speed of data collection, coverage area, bias due to the interviewer, quantity of data, control over fieldwork, anonymity of the respondent, question posing, and question diversity. Each method of survey has its own advantages and disadvantages with respect to various evaluation parameters.

Observation techniques involve watching and recording the behaviour of test subjects or test objects in a systematic manner without interacting with them. Observation research can be broadly classified as direct versus indirect observation; structured versus unstructured observation; disguised versus undisguised observation; and human versus mechanical observation. Observation methods can be broadly classified into five categories. These are personal observation, mechanical observation, audits, content analysis, and physical trace analysis. Each method of observation also has its own advantages and disadvantages with respect to various evaluation parameters.

Key Terms |

Direct observation, 158

Disguised observation, 158

Human observational techniques, 158

Indirect observation, 158

Mechanical observation, 158

Structured observation, 158

Undisguised observation, 158

Unstructured observation, 158

 

NOTES

1. Prowess (V. 3.1): Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai, accessed September 2009, reprinted with permission.
2. http://www.forcemotors.com/index.aspx
3. http://forcemotors.com/html/management_d_ analysis.aspx
4. http://www.financialexpress.com/news/supreme-court-spikes-rahul-bajaj-plea-against-force-…

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What is survey method of data collection and when is it used in marketing research?
2. What are different survey methods available for launch­ing a marketing research study? What will be the best method to be adopted? Explain and rationalize your answer.
3. Make a comparative chart to evaluate selection criteria for different survey techniques.
4. What is personal interview technique? Explain different types of personal interview techniques.
5. What are the relative advantages of telephone interview technique over other methods of survey? Explain different types of telephone interview techniques.
6. What is mail interview technique? For a marketing resear­cher, in what circumstance is this technique suitable?
7. What is the relative advantage of web-based interview technique over e-mail interview technique? Also explain the use and importance of electronic interview technique in recent times.
8. Make an evaluation charts for the different methods of survey with parameters such as cost, time, response rate, speed of data collection, coverage area, bias due to the interviewer, quantity of data, control over ­fieldwork, anonymity of the respondent, question ­posing, and question diversity.
9. What is observation? Why observation is not very frequently used by marketing researchers as compared with the survey techniques?
10. Write a short note on following terms:
    • Direct versus indirect observation
    • Structured versus unstructured observation
    • Disguised versus undisguised observation
    • Human versus mechanical observation
11. What is personal observation and under what ­circumstances is this a preferred option by a marketing researcher?
12. What is the difference between mechanical observation and audit analysis?
13. What is content analysis and what is the major reason of using this as an observation method?
14. What is physical trace analysis and what are the relative advantages of this observation technique over other techniques of observation?
15. What are the advantages and disadvantages of observation techniques?

CASE STUDY

Case 7: TVS Motors Company Ltd

Introduction: Two-Wheeler Industry in India

The two-wheeler category is steadily moving from a discretionary purchase to an essential purchase, especially among the burgeoning Indian middle-class households. Better quality and durability, higher fuel efficiency, new age styling, and features in conjunction with a slew of new product launches and greater finance availability have been the primary drivers of sales in the past years.¹ India secures second-largest position in two-wheeler production. Apart from the discussed facts, inadequacy and poor quality of public transport system in India have pushed the demand of two-wheelers. In India, the two-wheeler industry is highly diversified in terms of presenting a versatile product line. Two-wheeler manufacturers produce different economic models for general public as well as some specific models to cater the different needs of high-income group. Two-wheelers contain scooters, mopeds, and motorcycles. Few years ago the market was dominated by scooter segment, but scenario changed in 1998–1999 when motorcycles took the edge and never looked back. Nowadays, Indian two-wheeler industry is dominated by the motorcycle segment. Hero Honda, Bajaj, TVS Motors, Kinetic Motors, and LML are some of the main players in the Indian two-wheeler industry.

Demand of two-wheelers is increasing day-by-day. In the year 1990–1991, the demand for the two-wheelers was 1.82 million units that grew to 3.83 million units in the year 2000–2001. The projected demand for the two-wheelers in the year 2014–2015 is estimated to reach 16 million units.² This is no doubt a rosy picture for the growth of Indian two-wheeler industry. Tables 7.01 and 7.02 present market segmentation and product variation of two-wheelers in India, respectively.

TABLE 7.01 Market segmentation for the two-wheeler industry in four regions of the country

TABLE 7.02 Product wise market share for the two-wheeler industry in India

TVS Group: A Major Player in Two-Wheeler Market in India

TVS Group was established in 1911 by T. V. Sundram Iyengar. As one of India’s largest industrial entities, it epitomizes Trust, Value, and Services. Today TVS Group comprises of over 30 companies, employing more than 40,000 people worldwide and with a turnover in excess of US$ 4 billion. With heavy growth, expansion, and diversification, TVS commands a strong presence in manufacturing two-wheelers, auto component, and computer peripherals. The company also has a vibrant business in the distribution of heavy commercial vehicles, passenger cars, finance, and insurance. Mission statement of the company clearly states, “We are committed to being highly profitable, socially responsible, and leading manufacturer of high value for money, environmentally friendly, lifetime personal transportation products under the TVS brand, for customers predominantly in Asian markets and to provide fulfillment and prosperity for the employees, dealers and suppliers.” ­Company’s long-term vision can be well understood by its Vision statement comprised of three core values: Driven by the customer, The industry leader, and Global overview.³

TABLE 7.03 Sales, income, and profit after tax and forex earning (in million rupees) of TVS Motors Ltd from 1994–1995 to 2008–2009

Opportunities and Threats for TVS Motors Ltd

With the increased affordability among the Indian consumer class, the penetration level grew to 50 vehicles per thousand people. However, this is very low in comparison with countries such as Indonesia (100), Thailand (240), and Malaysia (300). Therefore, growth opportunities are ample in the future. Easy availability of low-cost finance has been a success factor in expanding the customer base in the past. Any restrictions will hamper the growth prospects. TVS Star has established itself as a strong brand in the economy segment and has already sold more than 1.2 million vehicles till date. However, the competition in this segment has been intense with price promotions and new product launches. The company plans to further invest and grow in this segment through continuous innovation and value addition to customers. TVS Apache struck a chord with the younger generation and has become a well-known brand in that segment of customers. However, the sensitivity of this segment to new products is high and a slew of new product launches from competition will act as a deterrent. The company plans to address this threat through a series of variants and new products to keep the excitement growing. Moped category sales is also growing specially in rural areas due to good monsoon in last few years, but a weak monsoon status can reverse the situation.¹ TVS Motors has strategies to meet with challenges posed by the environment. TVS Motors has some long-term plans to meet the challenges and threats.

Responding to shareholder’s queries at the Seventh Annual General Meeting in Chennai, Chairman and MD, Venu Srinivasan clearly stated, “All our investments will start paying dividends from this year. We are serious about the addressing the issues raised by the members like better utilization of the loans invested in assets, reducing the cost of operations and improving the returns. We will also looking at tapping renewable energy and other sources to tide over the power shortage and rising cost of the input.” Mr Srinivasan stated that TVS Motors has to revitalize its finance entity as the finances for two-wheelers and consumer durables have dried up from banks. He further stated that Indonesia may be a long-term market as TVS has established itself as a quality supplier.⁴

Three-wheeler market is also growing in its own proportion. In the year 2000–2001, market was covered with the demand for 2,14,000 units in a year. This is projected to reach the 6,60,000 units per year in the year 2014–2015.² TVS Motors is willing to cater the opportunities of three-wheeler industry. It has launched a three-wheeler brand “TVS King” to capitalize the opportunity present in a three-wheeler market. TVS Motors is willing to add more features in its three-wheeler brand “TVS King” on the basis of customer’s response. Assume, having this task in hand, the company decided to use both survey and observation method to collect the required response from the customer. What kind of survey methods should company use to collect the required information? What will be the basis of selecting an appropriate survey technique? What observation method the company should use to collect the information related to adding new features in the product? What should be the base of using survey and observation method?

NOTES

1. Prowess (V. 3.1): Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai, accessed September 2009, reprinted with permission.
2. http://www.indiastat.com, accessed September 2009, reprinted with permission.
3. http://www.tvsmotor.in/group.asp
4. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Auto/Automobiles/TVS-mot…