On Jan 5, 2006, at 6:02 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Bruce has pretty well summed up the problem with the survey.
Actually, it is an issue with all surveys other than those surveys that rely on student samples. Students usually receive bonus points or participation points for completing surveys, and, thus, are externally motivated to complete the survey. Other than that instance, respondents are motivated by internal factors. Emotions, positive or negative, are internal factors. If I really love the product line, or the brand, then I want to tell the world about my emotion to the point of obnoxiousness. Conversely, if I really despise the product line, or the brand, then I want to tell the world about my emotion to the point of obnoxiousness.
However, if like the vast majority of customers, I really do not possess strong emotions positively or negatively about the product line, or the brand. Thus, I am very unmotivated to complete a survey.
If there is an inducement such as my church or my philanthropy gets a $1 for every completed survey, or my name goes into a drawing for an iPod, then I more likely to complete the survey then if there is no reward. However, this issues takes us back to external motivation. Yes, survey results are called into question when a reward is used. Are the results valid? Is there a bias? How can you be sure the results would be consistent if there had been no reward?
Generally speaking, these are some of the inherent problems with surveys as a research methodologies. Researchers look at nonresponse bias, which is what Bruce essentially refers to in his post. One top marketing academic journal pretty much eschews survey research. Almost all economics journals do not publish surveys, which is laughable. Some psychology journals as well as consumer behavior journals are moving towards experiments only, which have their own methodological issues.
I am not privy to the questionnaire, how the data was collected, what analysis was used, etc. If I had to guess though, I would wager that the survey would not pass academic review. Just a hunch.
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