What Mode for Your Survey?

There are three modes of administering surveys, they are face-to-face, telephone, and self-administered (on paper or through the computer). How do you decide which to use? There is no single best method; all have advantages and disadvantages, which are summarized in the table below (from Vogt, Garner, & Haeffele, 2012, p. 20). 

                                                                                                          Mode of administration

Advantages and disadvantages	Face-to-Face	Telephone	Self-Administered
1. Usable with respondents who cannot read	Yes	Yes	No
2. Researcher can explain the meaning of a question	Yes	Yes	No
3. Researcher knows identity of respondent	Yes	Yes	No
4. Interaction with administer of survey	High	Medium	Low
5. Certainty that all respondents get exactly the same question	Low	Medium	High
6. Cost per respondent	High	Medium	Low
7. Time per question	High	High	Low
8. Possible to administer in groups	Yes	No	Yes
9. Effort required to obtain a large sample size	High	Medium	Low
10. Problems of access to respondents in remote or unsafe areas	Yes	No	No
11. Researcher's efficiency tied to that of postal, internet, or telephone system	No	Yes	Yes

 As the researcher, you need to weigh each of these consideration, keeping both the advantages and disadvantages in mind. Next time we will celebrate the fourth of July. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu 

Vogt, W. P., Gardner, D. C., & Haeffele, L. M. (2012). When to use what research design. NY: The Guilford Press.