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Research, especially
survey research, can seem so easy to do and yet, it is so easy to do
wrong. Bad research can lead to bad
decisions. And the internet has made
it easier than ever to do bad research.
First questions that
you need to ask yourself:
1.
What do I want to know?
2.
If you don’t know what you want to know, stop now. There is no reason to do a survey just
for the sake of doing a survey.
3.
What will I do with that knowledge?
4.
Research is a tool for decision-making. If you are not ready to
make decisions based on the results of the survey, don’t do a survey. If
you are looking for justifications for a decision you’ve already made, you
need to be prepared if the research does not provide what you want.
5.
Who do I want to know it from?
Members,
experts, general public, clients, customers, employees, suppliers, everyone
in a field (whether members in your organization or not), companies, state
or local government, retail outlets, wholesalers, readers of your
publication, advertisers, donors.
How are you
going to collect the information?
Sampling –
the most important and least understood part of survey research
Sample
Control and Confidentiality
What are
the consequences of a low response rate?
How to
encourage response?
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Philosophy
Communications and Marketing
Research
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