COM CM 321 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Survey Data Collection, Communication Studies
26 Oct 2019
School
Course
Professor
CM321
➔ Oct. 16th, 2019
Survey: Question Design
Why are surveys conducted?
- To describe (single variables)
- To explain (the relationship between two variables)
- Application in different areas:
o Discovery-oriented research (gain deeper insight about a particular audience) –
Journalism, Entertainment, Marketing
o Strategy-oriented research (test ideas and messages) – Public Relations and
Advertising
o Add knowledge to a field – Academic, Research department in private sectors
- One of the most commonly used methods in communication studies – looks at thoughts
and behaviors
Basic forms of survey
- Mail survey
- Telephone survey
- In-person survey
- Online survey
Pros and Cons of Survey
- Advantages
o Can explore the actual situation (compared to artificiality of lab experiment)
o Reasonable cost
o Large sample and data
o Less time and location limitations
o Easy to get secondary data
- Disadvantages
o No manipulation
o Can’t be easily changed once starting
o Poor question wording can invalidate results
o Heavily rely on the quality of respondents
o Hard to achieve a high response rate
Steps of conducting a survey
1. Formulating RQs/Hs based on literature review
2. Construct questionnaire based on the variables
3. Deciding population and form of distribution
4. Sampling
5. Pilot-testing
a. To ensure flow works well
b. To find out hard-to-understand/confusing instructions/questions
6. Collecting data
