Responding to Online Surveys for Living
Internet and mobile devices allow people to conduct surveys quickly and easily. You can get research data the day after completion of surveys, whereas it used to take 2 – 3 weeks to get data using postal surveys. Online surveys are one of main data collection methods in the market research industry today. You can select four or five online research service vendors for a quote.
Many marketing and market research companies secure a pool of people who can cooperate in their surveys. In this way, they can send out survey questionnaires to their registered respondents and get their responses with a quick turn around time. However, this generates some concerns about the research - are all Japanese really so cooperative in completing surveys? Do they really answer these surveys honestly?
INSIGHTS OUT – Survey respondent as a part-time job
Being a respondent for survey research is a good way of making money. When you visit Japanese websites, you may notice the following advertisements:
“Let’s become an online survey panelist, and earn money!”
“Get income as an internet monitor (online research panelist)!”
The system works like this: you find the advertisement asking for panelists on the website and apply for it by filling out the form. After that you are registered as a research panelist and you get invited to complete surveys. After participation in the survey you receive a reward from the research company such as a voucher or cash deposit into your bank account. Some people are registered as research panelists for multiple companies, and such people can be called ‘professional respondents’.
Casting bias on research data
Professional respondents can create bias and inaccuracies in research. You may look at the research data and assume that the respondents gave you fresh opinions, even though some professional respondents may have answered. Such situations apparently jeopardize the quality of research and can lead businesses in the wrong direction.
Of course, research companies are aware of the presence of professional respondents and set stringent recruitment criteria and thoroughly check the accuracy of their research data. However, people may participate in surveys just for the financial incentives – what they need to do is answer the survey questions accurately.
What we should do?
There are many ways to avoid professional or experienced respondents. You could always recruit fresh respondents who have never participated in any surveys or interviews. You could also use other research methods other than online surveys, such as observational research. The reward system for participating in surveys could also be reviewed so that research participants are willing to cooperate in the research, but not as part of their job.
January 25 2008 07:50 am | Research
