Introduction
A survey is a crucial research tool that helps investigators learn about the feelings, behaviors, and thoughts of a given group of individuals. The survey questions designers must ask themselves are whether the investigation is objective, unambiguous, and specific. The data is collected in various formats, including paper-based, online, telephone, and in-person interviews.
For instance, the university cafeteria survey is done to confirm if the facility meets the expectations of the students. Information gathered from a representative sample of individuals should be used to make inferences about a larger population. Surveys require analyzing the people before the procedure to save time and cost, and help attain a more accurate report that requires fewer adjustments afterward.
Question of Interest: How satisfied are students with the quality of food services the university cafeteria provides?
Poor Ways to Collect Samples
Several poor ways exist to collect a sample that may result in biased results. Examples include convenience and self-selection sampling. Convenience sampling involves selecting participants who are easily accessible.
For instance, it focuses on students who happen to be passing by the cafeteria during the survey period. This is a poor way to collect the sample since it may result in a biased sample that is not representative of the target group and may undermine the ability to generalize to the population of concern (Andrade, 2021). This likely results in a bias towards students who regularly use the cafeteria and may not represent the whole learners’ population.
On the other hand, self-selection sampling includes allowing participants to opt in to the survey by placing survey forms at the cafeteria entrance. This likely results in a bias toward students who are particularly satisfied or dissatisfied with the food services and may not represent the entire student population (Murray et al., 2021). It is also an unreliable sampling method because it could lead to a biased group of students who feel especially positive or negative about the food services. To avoid such bias, a random sampling method could be used to select participants from the entire scholar population to ensure a representative sample.
Ways to Modify a Survey
I would modify the survey methodology by using a random sampling technique to select participants. The process would involve the right participants by encouraging all undergraduate students to enroll at the university. For instance, I would ask each interviewee to indicate the program they are undertaking and the level of their studies.
Determine the sample size based on the scope of the entire institution’s population. Using a stratified causal method to select participants would make the survey less likely to suffer from bias than the poor sampling methods mentioned earlier (Story & Tait, 2019). This aspect would ensure that each student has an equal chance of being selected for the survey and that the tester represents everyone.
Additionally, I would use a standardized questionnaire that includes questions about student satisfaction with the quality of food services provided by the university cafeteria. This would ensure that the survey results can be generalized to other universities with similar demographics. It is also vital to ensure the participants understand the language used to avoid guesswork (Story & Tait, 2019). The contestants should be a group of naïve people, as this gives the researcher honest opinions and feelings regarding their investigation.
Ethical Considerations
Participants in the survey should give consent voluntarily and without coercion. The contestants have the right to withdraw their participation in the study at any stage. The researcher should inform the interviewees of the purpose of the investigation, potential risks, and benefits (Best Practices for Survey Research—AAPOR, 2022).
The confidentiality and anonymity of the participants are critical considerations throughout the process. The interviewer may use codes instead of names to identify members who participated. Deception must be avoided since it can cause some participants to withhold essential information. If dishonesty is necessary for the procedure, then the researchers must fully debrief participants afterward and explain the reasons for it.
Information collected should be stored in a secure location to avoid accessibility by non-participants. Ownership is vital during this process, and investigators should communicate to participants who own the data obtained and how it will be used (Moore et al., 2018). Respect for the dignity of the contributors is paramount, and no one should be harmed or threatened as they give statistics; instead, they should protect the rights and well-being of members. Biased ways of representing primary data findings and any misleading info must be avoided to ensure the data is accurate and represents the actual judgments.
Conclusion
A survey research method has the statistical power of gathering information from a representative sample. Carrying out a study of the targeted population before the survey is crucial since it helps in accuracy and is time-saving. Surveys are cost-effective, although the cost depends on the mode of the investigation.
Researchers must consider ethical and legal considerations, including informed consent, confidentiality, privacy, and compliance with laws and regulations, to avoid biases. The approach should represent the people’s honest opinions, feelings, and thoughts, and all types of deception should be avoided to ensure accuracy. The study can produce reliable and valid findings that help the management make an informed decision and fulfill the purpose of the process successfully by using a responsible and respectful methodology for data collection.
References
Andrade, C. (2021). The inconvenient truth about convenience and purposive samples. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 43(1), 86–88. Sagepub. Web.
Moore, D.S., William I Notz, W.I., & Fligner, M. (2018). The basic practice of statistics (8th edition). Macmillan Higher Education.
Murray, S., Peterson, C., Primo, C., Elliott, C., Otlowski, M., Auckland, S., & Kent, K. (2021). Prevalence of food insecurity and satisfaction with on-campus food choices among Australian university students. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. Web.
Story, D. A., & Tait, A. R. (2019). Survey research. Anesthesiology, 130(2), 192–202. Web.
The leading association of public opinion and survey research professionals./ Standards and Ethics (2022). Best Practices for Survey Research – AAPOR. Web.