online-survey
Online Survey
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Introduction
Online survey is a form of data seeking assessments which is done over the internet. This online type of survey is done through online and not face to face interaction. However the questions asked are similar. There are several companies that conduct online survey. The way this survey is carried out is a little bit different but normally serve the same purpose. These kind of companies are such as; SurveyMonkey®, mysurvey, swagbuks, vindale and, QuestionPro research. For people to use the service, they must sign up in the survey website of the company. In addition, the user must make membership payment so that they can get most features that are being offered. However, most of them have free accounts which allows people to use for free.
The Features in free accounts are limited and may not be effective for conducting reliable and a good survey. This is because they limit the surveyor to send questionnaires to limited number of people. For Survey Monkey ® Company, it allows the free user to send message to only 100 responders with a maximum of ten questions per questionnaire. Despite the fact that they are free, one has to upgrade them in order to enjoy their services. This requirement contradicts with the SurveyMonkey® company free services providing. On top of free basic plan, SurveyMonkey® also offers additional advanced plans such as Select, Gold and platinum at a given fee. Select plan services goes for $26 per month, gold for $299 a year but with additional advanced privileges to the user than those offered in Select. In gold plan services, the users can send questionnaires to unlimited number of people. Platinum plan services has got more advanced feature such as text analysis, 24/7 email support and other features.
There are various disadvantages and advantages of online survey. Their advantages includes the following; online survey allows a person to directly send questions to people in different location at the same time. Unlike traditional survey where the surveyor has to travel to meet people who will respond to his/her questions. This enables the surveyor to receive more results from diverse locations unlike when he/she traditional methods which is limited in terms of geographical location. If the researcher is targeting larger geographical space, this method is faster than when a person is to travel to those places (Marsden & Wright, 2010).
Online survey maybe advantageous when the scale of the area targeted gives high responds, however when the population is low, this method may not be suitable. When the scale is higher, the cost of doing research becomes less. This happens because, the staff members are not required to enter the data that has been gathered into the system manually. Instead, the respondents post’s their answers to the system directly. This eases the work for researchers since data is already available in softcopy format. This allows the researcher to transfer the data into other tools of scrutiny such as computer software easily. In addition, the questions are designed easily in online survey. This platform provides samples of questions in several fields as well as different in formats (Sue & Ritter, 2007). The data in online survey is analyzed automatically and this makes it to be effective. The results are stated in with charts and graphs. If this task was to be done manually, it would consume a lot of time and would be disposed to errors. Online survey is, therefore, more accurate compared to the traditional survey.
Online survey is convenient for participants. Since responds is to be done at their own convenient time, unlike if it was to be carried out through the phone or face-to-face. Moreover, the researcher may design a question that suites each target group with ease. The researcher may change the questions when here is need, and the respondents are given chance to change their responds too. People who respond to online survey are more likely to be honest. This is because people always feel safe while in the unidentified locations of the internet.
There are disadvantages of online surveys. The main disadvantage is that this survey targets internet users only. The illiterate people and those who are not conversant with telecommunication are thus left out. Some respondents might give inappropriate answers this is because the interviewer is not present to give more clarifications about what is expected from the questionnaires. When the targeted population is small and is located within a small geographical location, the method of survey is not suitable. In this case, face-to-face method is faster than online method (Braithwaite, Emery, Lusignan, & Sutton, 2003).
Since the interviewer does not monitor the participants, he might wait for them to respond yet at they may ate the end not respond. Others respondents may respond later when the data have already been analyzed and conclusion made. Some use incentives to stimulate participants, however, the participants will answer the questions so as to get incentives but not to the progress of the study. This contributes to fraud of the survey. Respondents may not answer questions when they are put in unfavorable position. Survey validity, is the ability of a given survey to openly represent what the researchers had targeted and what the survey itself claims to represent. In other words, the accuracy of the survey. Survey validity is divided in two, external and internal validity. External validity is the degree in which the results from the survey can be comprehended thus to the entire population. On the other hand, internal validity is the extent to which a surveyor precisely and exactly measures had been targeted.
Online survey may or may not be outwardly effectively responsible on the targeted group. For a survey to be externally valid, it should cover a large proportion of the population as possible. When majority of the targeted group are not internet users then the survey may not be effective. For example, an online survey may be externally effective when it is targeting teenagers and young adult since they are the frequent internet users. However it may not be valid when it intends to gather information from older people. Internet is vastly associated with middle class and upper class people. Poor people living in rural areas where there is no internet might be disadvantaged, thus reducing the external validity online survey (Sue & Ritter, 2007).
As for internal validity, online validity again may be or may not be valid depending on the design of the questions. If the questions are accurately designed such that they are clear and are not ambiguous then the survey will be internally valid. Since in online survey there is no interviewee do will assist participants in understanding question, there is more chances of if it being internally invalid. Internal validity is also a challenge because people may answer the questions twice or even more if they have multiple accounts and emails. Internet connectivity may also affects the way a person respond to questions. A person may respond to same questions differently if the internet is slow and when connection is fast. The speed on the internet will thus determine the validity of the survey. In addition, gadget used by participants may affect the validity of the survey, some gadgets such as mobile phone may be too small to be read clearly, other are large computers which can easily ne read.
Reliability of a survey is its ability to show reliability in the results that it gives each and every time the same survey is administered. Reliability is closely related to internal validity. As seen above, many factors affects the way a respondent answer a question. Factors such the display effect will influence the way a person interprets a question. Variations in the way questions are presented across various gadgets, operating systems and the size of the screen as a prospective of manipulating participants in interpretation of what they see. With the development in technology old gadget are always disposed while users get a new one. This changes alters their interpretation next time they are given the same questions. Changes in different aspects of technology hence affects reliability of online survey method (Beerbohm, 1921)
In conclusion, online survey is a vital method of collection and analyzing of data. It has more advantages, which have makes it popular in modern. The key challenges that this method of survey is facing is lack of consistency and poor internal validity. This issues should be addressed properly so that the users can enjoy full benefits related online survey.
References
Beerbohm, M. (1921). A survey. London: W. Heinemann.
Braithwaite, D., Emery, J., de Lusignan,S., & Sutton, S. (2003). Using the Internet to
Conduct Surveys of Health Professionals: A Valid Alternative? Family Practice
Marsden, P. V., & Wright, J. D. (2010). Handbook of survey research. Bingley, UK: Emerald.
Sue, V. M., & Ritter, L. A. (2007). Conducting online surveys. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
