There is a high degree of general competence to represent a huge population via the use of surveys. Due to the generally large number of individuals that respond to surveys, the collected data provide a more accurate depiction of the relative features of the study’s general population. Compared to other techniques of data collection, surveys may extract data that are almost identical to the characteristics of the wider population (Sincero, 2012). One has to pay for the manufacturing of survey questions while conducting surveys. If researchers require a bigger sample of the general public, they may provide monetary or non-monetary incentives of as little as $2 per participant (Sincero, 2012). Other data collection techniques, such as focus groups and personal interviews, are more expensive for researchers. There are several methods by which surveys may be conducted to respondents. The surveys may be conducted through email, fax, or the Internet. Currently, internet surveys are the most common technique to collect data from target participants (Sincero, 2012). In addition to the ease of data collection, researchers may collect information from individuals all over the world.
The survey employed by the researcher from the outset and its administration technique must be kept the same during the whole data collection procedure. Although this rigidity might be considered a shortcoming of the survey approach, it can also be viewed as a virtue, given that both precision and fairness can be applied to the research (Sincero, 2012). Controversial questions may elicit vague responses from participants due to the probable difficulties in retaining pertinent facts. These concerns may need to be resolved precisely as when employing alternate data collection techniques, such as in-person interviews and focus groups. Consequently, a mix of methodologies may be a more robust strategy that accounts for drawbacks and reduces the likelihood of bias.
Validity refers to the degree to which a claim, conclusion, or choice is rational, correct, and justified. The reliability of a survey instrument is measured by the degree to which its questions consistently elicit the same responses when asked again in the same context (Wu et al., 2022). Reliability is a statistical measure of the reproducibility of the data collected by a survey instrument. Both reliability and validity are essential in assessing the quality of research. Researchers may utilize these notions to create research techniques that provide reliable and valuable data. A survey instrument is said to have high reliability if it produces similar results under consistent conditions (Wu et al., 2022). Any change would be due to a true change in the attitude, as opposed to changing interpretation. The concerns with no reliability and validity are the generation of defective data that would be inaccurate, unreproducible, or invalid, resulting in incorrect conclusions and actions.
The reliability stems from the qualifications of the University of Virginia Health System, the name of which is printed on the cover page. The survey questions of UVA Health System are provided in the form of items for discussion, which ensures that the deviation of data is minimal and that all results are replicable. Thus, making the survey targeted and concise – ideal for research purposes. They are directly related to the evaluation of the workplace as they convey in short sentences the employee job satisfaction with various organizational parts. It is possible to think that everyone taking the survey would be able to have a similar level of comprehension as, despite vagueness, the survey focuses on distinct feelings about certain situations. Questions are unbiased because they could be applicable in any work environment. This universality of application confirms noninvasiveness. Since the nature of the items discussed focuses on the feelings of respondents, there could be several answers for positive and negative interpretations, which demonstrates overlapping categories.
References
Sincero, S. M. (2012). Advantages and disadvantages of surveys. Explorable. Web.
Wu, M.-J., Zhao, K., & Fils-Aime, F. (2022). Response rates of online surveys in published research: A Meta-analysis. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 7, 100206.