Lecture Logic: What does "Quantitative" mean?

By Erica Wenham, Thursday 23 October 2012.

Modern Marketing Information & Analysis (Week 5)

If you haven't seen Part 1 of my Qualitative and Quantitative series please have a read, here. Part 1 included an extensive explanation about Qual and here today, I will be telling you all about Quant. Again, I've thrown in some more tips and tricks on how to improve questionnaire design as well as few advantages, disadvantages and theory too so ENJOY!

(Also, special thanks to Vic for some of this information in today's lecture, it's been a massive help with my coursework!)

Quantitative research is mostly collected through primary research (surveys/questionnaires). Overall, a poorly designed questionnaire when conducting quantitative research will fail if it doesn't gather the data originally expected. The risk of this happening can be made smaller if a questionnaire is done successfully.

Firstly, the heart of the questionnaire should meet the information requirements of the study and meet initially set goals and objectives of the research plan. In order for it to fulfill its role properly then the questionnaire need to be carefully analysed, to make sure the questions retain the interest of the respondent.  It is important that questions given are not tedious, too complex or poorly explained; also insuring that the questionnaire takes as little time possible for respondents to complete.

Open ended questions and closed questions are the two main types of questions that can be used in a questionnaire. The open-ended questions allow the respondent to express their views on the given subject, whereas closed-ended questions only give the option to give one or more response from a number of potential replies provided.

When using sequence in a questionnaire (Wilson 2012) states that "It is best to approach it from the respondent’s point of view: What sequence will respondents perceive as being interesting and logical? If respondents feel that they are jumping from subject to subject, the questioning can feel more like an interrogation than a relaxed marketing research survey."

Conducting questionnaires online has become an extremely popular choice with organisations in the 21st century as the results do return many useful advantages. A few examples are as follows;

• Reduced Costs & Time; By producing online questionnaires rather than conducting telephone or street face-to-face questionnaires can cut costs dramatically as there are no personnel/staff involved in administration and there are no call charges. Results are processed automatically and results can be accessed at any time (respondents answers can be calculated whilst the survey is still live/online too). This is also much less time-consuming. Smart-Survey explains that "the time span needed to complete an online survey is on average, two-thirds shorter than that of a traditional research method".
• Fast Delivery; "There have recently been a growing number of online software packages and survey hosting sites that make the design and analysis of online surveys very straightforward” (Wilson, 2012, p.142). As a result, online questionnaires can be designed and despatched to numerous respondents quickly and efficiently.
• Penetrating Different Target Groups; Additionally, online surveys can access a wide variety of audiences and individuals who may be difficult to reach through other means of communication. By executing an online survey, many businesses can also potentially reach a much wider market and consumer base as well as increase brand awareness and online traffic.
• Easy to use/style; Smart-Survey indicates that 90% of people with internet-access prefer to answer surveys online rather than any other form of communication. This gives them the chance to answer questions at their own leisure and time. The overall style and design of the questionnaire can also be personalised according to the business. For example, including multi-media components such as images, audio, video, colours can be changed and brand logo can be included. Consequently, this can make the questionnaire more interesting for respondents.

However, with any type of market research, the use of online questionnaires can also have its disadvantages As a result, in order to reach all members of Marlow FM’s target market; Black Sheep Marketing has also conducted face-to-face focus groups and an in-depth interview. For example;

• Limited Sampling and Respondent Availability; Some target audience individuals may be less likely to have internet access and respond to online questionnaires. "It is also harder to draw probability samples" (Tyson Gingery, survey.cvent.com, 2011).
• Unreliable Data; Although online questionnaires allow completion at your own leisure and time, a lack of interviewer to assist respondents with information regarding the questionnaire can sometimes lead to less reliable data.

Quantitative Research Factors

The aim of the questionnaire is essentially linked with the overall purpose of the research and its goals and objectives. “It is tailor-made to meet the information of the study and therefore lies at the heart of the research process”, (Brassington and Pettitt, p.165).

Questionnaire Objectives

It is also vital that the questionnaire retains interest of respondents so that full completion takes place. Sometimes respondents give up if the questionnaire becomes boring, too poorly explained or too long and confusing. Therefore, it is fundamental to make sure that the questionnaire takes as little time as possible to complete. There are two main types of questions questionnaires can use; open-ended questions and closed questions;

• Open-Ended Questions: These allow considerable scope for the respondent to express their own views on the specific topic e.g. “Is there anything you think our business could improve on?” Questions such as this are described as open-ended because they do not give a range of potential answers for the respondent to choose from. Chisnall (1986) argues that “open-ended questions can help to build the goodwill of the respondent through allowing an unrestricted response”.
• Closed Questions: These give the respondent a choice of responses within the questionnaire. Closed questions can fall into two groups; dichotomous and multiple choice. Dichotomous questions allow choices such as “yes” or “no”, e.g. “Have you bought anything from our business before?” Multiple choice questions are seen to be a “more sophisticated form of closed question” because they provide a list of possible choices for the respondent to choose from e.g. “When are you mostly likely to visit one of our stores? At the weekend? In the evenings? Bank holidays?” etc. Generally, the more options there are, the better, as restraining the amount of choice can create a potential source of bias. All of the multiple choice questions Black Sheep have created include an “Other (Please Specify” option; these answers provide an opportunity to collect responses that were not originally listed. Multiple choice questions are relatively easy to collect and analyse.

Overall, the success or failure of a questionnaire lies in the detail and design. Detailed wording of questions is essential to take into consideration so the respondent fully understands what is being asked of them, what is required and accurate responses are encouraged.

The layout of the questionnaire is also especially important as an unappealing page could make it difficult to respond to. It must be user friendly. The order of the questions is also important for respondents as “more confusing the flow and the more jumping around they have to do; the less likely they are to complete the questionnaire” (Brassington and Pettitt, p.169). Specific effort should also be prepared to avoid the use of jargon and technical language that may be unfamiliar to respondents.