Small Scale Survey Research MethodByJayadeva de Silva.M.Sc,FIPM,FITD

Many business schools and universities require students to carry out research projects as a partial requirement for their degree or professional qualifications. The time allotted may vary from 3-5 months .Many students in management and psychology choose survey research method .Survey research can be large or small in scale. It is therefore not feasible for students to undertake large scale survey research. In this learning

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resource we shall briefly discuss issues pertaining to small scale survey research

The main reason for a choice of a small scale survey is to obtain representative responses from a sample of people whose views reflect those of the target population. Small scale may be reckoned to be fewer than 1,000 people, although this number is flexible.It is not the psychological question itself that is small but rather the number of respondents involved.

Examples of small scale surveys include:Patients or employees who show similar dysfunctional behaviourCustomer choice in purchasing goodsChoice of schooling where this is feasibleAttitudes to local policies, decisions

Strengths of this method is relatively economical and the Limitation is its limited size may throw some doubt upon its representative quality.

Identification and Representativeness of Target Population

The aim of all survey research is to obtain information about some specified population. The critical factor in the survey method is the validity of the generalisations. That is, to what extent is the sample truly representative of the target population?

-Target Population Is the target group (the group of interest for the researcher)

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-Sample is the group of individuals, who are selected from within a larger population by means of a sampling procedure-It is important in any survey study to ensure that the sample selected is as representative of the target population as possible.-The Representativeness of a survey is entirely dependent upon the accuracy of the sampling frame used. Sometimes it is not possible to identify an accurate or up-to-date sampling frame.

A problem that applies to nearly all sampling methods is that of non-responding. Random sampling is usually not an appropriate means for the survey research method. The most appropriate techniques of sampling from target population for the survey research method include:Stratified sampling,Purposive samplingConvenience or opportunity sampling (only when all other sampling methods are not feasible)

Stratified Sampling TechniqueStratified sampling procedures involve:Dividing the population to be studied into subgroups (strata - usually characteristics such as age, income, ethnic background, religion, sex, IQ scores, etc)ThenSelecting a separate sample from each subgroup in the same proportion as the subgroups occur in the population.Example:

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If a population comprises 70% boys and 30% girls, the stratified sample will comprise 70% boys and 30% girls.

Strengths of stratified samplingIt is a deliberate effort is made to identify the characteristics of a sample most important for it to be representative of the population.

Weaknesses of stratified samplingVery time consuming and difficult to carry out effectively since a lot of calculations are involved. It is often hard to know which sub-groups to identify. It is a waste of time and effort if we use characteristics (e.g. gender) that are of no relevance to the study. What is more troublesome is if we fail to identify sub-groups on the basis of some characteristic which is actually highly relevant

Purposive Sampling TechniqueIn this method the researcher actively selects a particular group of people to answer the research question, rather than a simple demographic stratification.

Participants are chosen on the basis of:-The aim of the study-Existing knowledge in the field, e.g. the researcher's practical knowledge of the research area, the available

literature and evidencefrom the study itself.

-Particular characteristics (variables) that might influence an

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individual's contribution to explore the research topic. For example:

Socioeconomic, specific experiences, occupation, and social roles

Strengths of purposive sampling -It is useful in situations where the researcher needs to obtain a sample quickly to investigate an urgent problem.-It may be the only option, if the desired population for the study is rare or difficult to locate. -Researchers recognize that some informants are 'richer' than others and that these people are more likely to provide insight and understanding for the researcher.-Choosing someone at random to answer a qualitative question would be analogous to randomly asking a passer-by how to repair a broken down car.

Weaknesses of purposive sampling -High likelihood of a biased unrepresentative sample-Confidentiality concerns, because the participants know the identity of the other participants-Relies on referrals – the researcher simply asks participants in the study if they know other potential participants – one participant recruits another.

Strengths of Purposive samplingIt is cost efficient – do not have to use expensive or time consuming techniques to locate participantsCan be used for hidden populations or populations that might otherwise be difficult to access (e.g. sex

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workers, drug users, victims of domestic violence etc).

Opportunity Sampling Technique This is the least rigorous sampling method which involves the selection of the most accessible participants (convenient) or participants who just happen to be about at the time of the investigation (opportunistic).There is an element of convenience sampling in many qualitative studies, but a more thoughtful approach to selection of a sample is usually justified.

Strengths of convenience samplingIt is the least costly to the researcher, in terms of time, effort and money

Weaknesses of convenience samplingIt has the severe disadvantage that the participants may be nothing like a representative sample.

Students should be familiar with the use of a Likert Scale in conducting research of this nature

Likert was an early researcher in the study and measurement of attitudes. He showed social psychologists how to measure attitudes by first providing a clear statement about an attitude topic, and then asking the degree to which participants approve or disapprove of the statement.For example, when measuring the attitudes of a group of elderly Australians, two researchers Warburton and Terry (2000) presented statements

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such as: ‘Most people who are important to me do volunteer work.’ Participants then indicated their level of agreement or disagreement with the statement.

A Likert-type scale is shown in below. SA = Strongly agree D = Disagree N = Neither agree nor disagreeA = Agree SD = Strongly disagreeThis is an example of a five-fold Likert scale. There is a mid-point that allows participants to be indifferent.

Strengths of Likert scale-It is easy to develop for particular purposes, that is, can determine which items are important to the sample population-They generate numerical data, which can easily be treated statistically and summarised across a sample.

Limitations of Likert scale-The combination of statements / cumulative scores are difficult to interpret-Issues of validity and reliability can arise.

Research student should ensure that measures they choose in the survey should satisfy the following criteria

What is Validity?Quality of a measure relating to whether it measures what it is intended to measure. There are four types

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of validity relating to measurements of attitude. Overall, if a researcher’s measures are not valid, then they have no value.

What is Reliability?Quality of a measure relating to its relative consistency in measurement, such as between different measurement times and they must be consistent with themselves.

What is internal reliability?An individual’s responses should be related to each other. For example, does the person give all questions about his or her attitudes approximately the same rating?

What is Test–retest reliability?If we measure attitudes on a Monday, then the individual’s responses should be the same when we measure the attitudes again on Wednesday.

Overall, if our measures are not reliable, then we cannot say what we have measured is real.

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