Unit 7: Methodologies for Validating Customers’

Concerns
Lesson 3: Survey Research

Contents
Engage 1
Introduction 1
Objective 1

Explore 2

Explain and Elaborate 3

Survey Research 3
Survey Research Methods 3
Three Important Factors in Survey Research 5
Steps in Conducting Survey Research 8

Extend 9
Activity 9

Evaluate 10

Wrap Up 13

Bibliography 14
Unit 7.3: Survey Research

Engage

Introduction

Fig. 1. Customer answering survey form

Every business is eager to understand what their customers think about their products and
services to make better business decisions. Though research can be conducted in multiple
ways, surveys have been one of the most effective methods of gathering information about
customers.

Objective
In this lesson, you should be able to validate customer-related concerns through a survey.

DepEd Competency
Validate customer-related concerns through a survey. (CS_EP11/12ENTREP-0d-g-9)

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Unit 7.3: Survey Research

Explore

15 minutes
Guide Questions
Answer the following questions.
1. Have you experienced answering a survey from any establishment? Describe how the
survey was presented.

2. Can you give examples of organizations or establishments that use surveys? List down
at least three.

3. How do you think businesses benefit from conducting surveys?

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Unit 7.3: Survey Research

Explain and Elaborate

Survey Research
Survey research is a quantitative method of collecting data from a set of respondents. The
survey is the most preferred instrument for quantitative research. The respondents are
asked a variety of questions about their personal information, motivation, and behavior.
The data collected from surveys are analyzed to draw research conclusions.

How does the researcher identify the tool to be

used in survey research?

Survey Research Methods

The survey may use a variety of data collection methods. It is used in order to test
concepts, reflect attitudes of people, or establish a level of customer satisfaction. Below are
the methods a researcher may apply to his study.

Table 1. Survey research method based on the medium

Method Description

The online survey, commonly called the internet survey, is

one of the most popular data collection methods nowadays.
This is done by sending survey questions to a target sample,
Online/email
and the members of this sample can respond to the question
over the internet. The respondents may receive their
questionnaires via email, social media, or through websites.

This survey research method is conducted over the phone. It

Phone is useful in collecting data from a large section of a target
population, but there is a chance that the money and time

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Unit 7.3: Survey Research

invested in this medium will be higher than any other

medium.

Method Description

The researcher gains information from the respondents via a

face-to-face medium. It is more effective than any other
medium because the respondents provide honest and clear
Face-to-Face
feedback since they face the researchers. The researcher can
also identify whether the respondents are uncomfortable
with the asked questions.

Table 2. Survey research method based on time

Method Description

Longitudinal survey research involves conducting survey

research over continuous time. It may be conducted across
Longitudinal survey years and decades. In this type of research method, the
research survey creator distributes questionnaires over time. This is to
observe changes in participant’s behavior, attitude, or
preferences.

Cross-sectional survey research, on the other hand, conducts

Cross-sectional survey research to gather data from the respondents at a particular
research time interval. This survey research method helps researchers
to collect information in a brief life span.

How do researchers plan a survey?

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Unit 7.3: Survey Research

Three Important Factors in Survey Research

In planning the survey, the researcher must consider the three important concerns in
research:
1. Sample Size
The sample size is the term used in market research to determine the number of
respondents to be used in the survey. It is called a sample because it only
represents part of the group.

Tip
Slovin’s formula is a general equation used to determine the sample
size if the researcher has an estimated number of the population.
The formula is written as n=N/(1+Ne2), where n is the number of
samples, N is the population, and e is the margin of error.

Example: Calculating the sample size

Situationer:
A researcher will be conducting survey research on soda preferences of customers. He
wants to find out the sample size of the population with 1,000 people. Below are the steps
in calculating the sample size.

Step Description

1. Decide the level of The researcher decides that he will use the standard
confidence. 5% margin of error, with a confidence level of 95%.

The researcher computes the data using the formula,

2. Compute the data.
arriving at the answer of 285.714286.

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Unit 7.3: Survey Research

The researcher rounded off the answer. The sample

3. Round off the answer.
size for the population of 1,000 is 286.

2. Sampling Technique
The sampling technique is the process of selecting members of a population to estimate
characteristics of the whole population. There are two kinds of sampling techniques,
probability sampling and non-probability sampling.

Probability sampling is a sampling technique wherein each member of the population will
be given a chance to be included in the sample. Non-probability sampling is a sampling
technique wherein not all members of the population have an equal opportunity to be
included in the sample.

Table 3. Probability sampling techniques

Technique Description

Simple random sampling is a probability sampling

technique wherein every single member of the population
Simple random sampling
is chosen randomly, merely by chance, and has the exact
same probability of being chosen to be part of the sample.

In this technique, the members of the sample are chosen

at regular intervals. For example, there are 500 individuals
Systematic sampling in the population. They are arranged chronologically and
numbered one to four. Every 4th of the set is chosen until
the desired sample is reached.

In this technique, the researcher will group the entire

Cluster sampling population into clusters or sections that represent a
population.

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Unit 7.3: Survey Research

In this technique, the researcher divides the population

Stratified random sampling first into groups. For each group, the samples are drawn
randomly.

Table 4. Non-probability sampling techniques

Techniques Description

This type of sampling technique is applied to those samples which

are taken because they are the most available. The research takes
Convenience sampling
the nearest individual as the respondents of the study until the
sample size reaches the desired number.

In quota sampling, the selection of members is based on pre-set

Quota sampling criteria. A sample is formed on the basis of specific attributes that
are found in the total population.

Snowball sampling is a sampling technique that is applied to

samples that are difficult to trace. This method is implemented in
Snowball sampling
situations where the topic is highly sensitive and not openly
discussed.

This type of sampling technique is based on selecting the

Judgemental sampling
individuals as samples according to the purpose of the researcher.

3. Questionnaire Design
There are some rules that need to be followed in question formulation. These are:
1. The questions should be able to cover all the necessary information required
in the research.
2. The questions should be clear.
3. Each question should cover one topic at a time.
4. Each question should be translated into the target respondent’s dialect.

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Unit 7.3: Survey Research

Remember
The sample size is the total number of respondents derived from
the population. The sampling technique is the process of identifying
and selecting the respondents of the research.

How to plan for successful survey research?

Steps in Conducting Survey Research

In order for the survey research to be successful, every researcher must follow the steps
below.

1. Develop the research objectives. The researcher must define the goals of the
research. Determine what to know and learn.

2. Determine the sample. Before conducting the survey research, the researcher
must identify the sample size and determine what sampling technique to be used.

3. Choose the method. From the different survey research methods based on a
medium such as online, phone, and face-to-face, the researcher must choose the
appropriate method to be used for his research.

4. Create the questionnaire. In drafting the questionnaire, the researcher must

identify the key information that will have to be asked to the respondents. Design
the questionnaire based on the guidelines presented.

5. Pretest the questionnaire. Conduct pilot testing of the questionnaire. This is to

identify any errors and unclear questions. Take note of the comments of the
respondents and revise the questionnaire.

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Unit 7.3: Survey Research

6. Analyze the data. Organize the questionnaires for orderly processing. Tabulate the
data gathered, use graphs, and statistics. Write a report indicating the insights
gained from the results.

Extend
Activity

An entrepreneur wants to conduct survey research to assess the quality of his ice cream
product. He has an estimated 500 customers. Identify and compute the sample size to be
used by the entrepreneur.

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Unit 7.3: Survey Research

Guide
● The student may use Slovin’s formula in identifying the sample size.
● Follow the steps in calculating the sample size in the lesson guide.

Evaluate

A. Explain your understanding of the following concepts

based on the lesson.

1. What is survey research?

2. What is a sampling technique?

3. What is the difference between probability and non-probability sampling techniques?

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Unit 7.3: Survey Research

4. What are the factors to consider in conducting survey research?

5. How to compute a sample size if the researcher knows the estimated number of the
population?

B. Form a group of five students. Conduct a survey within your class. Provide
four possible choices of answers for the easy tabulation of results. Tabulate
the data gathered. Create a summarized report for the results of your survey.

Questions Option of Answers

a.
1. What food do they want for a b.
snack? c.
d.

a.
2. What price of the food can b.
they afford? c.
d.

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Unit 7.3: Survey Research

3. What promotions can they be a.

easily attracted to? b.
c.
d.

Total number of Results of Survey

respondents

Question 1 Question 2 Question 3

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Unit 7.3: Survey Research

Wrap Up
___________________________________________________________________________________________

● Survey research is a quantitative method of collecting data from a set of

respondents. The respondents are asked a variety of questions about their personal
information, motivation, and behavior.
● The sample size is the term used in market research to determine the number of
respondents to be used in the survey.
● Sampling technique is the process of selecting members of a population to
estimate characteristics of the whole population.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

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Unit 7.3: Survey Research

Bibliography

Glen, Stephanie. “Slovin’s formula: What is it and when do i use it?”. Statistics How To.
Accessed April 12, 2020.
https://www.statisticshowto.com/how-to-use-slovins-formula/.

Hisrich, Robert, Michael Peters, and Dean Shepherd. Entrepreneurship 9th edition.
Mc-Graw-Hill International Edition, 2013.

Miranda, Gregorio. Basic Marketing Revised Edition. L & G Business House, 1997.

Singh, Seema. “Sampling techniques.” Towards data science. Accessed April

13, 2020. https://towardsdatascience.com/sampling-techniques-a4e34111d808.

“Survey Research: Definition, examples, and methods.” QuestionPro. Accessed

April 11, 2020. https://www.questionpro.com/article/survey-research.html.

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