Surveys are beneficial for research, planning and forecasting. They are nonexperimental and more focused on collecting data and studying variable relationships. They are commonly used in marketing research, employee satisfaction and elections. Today with technology, these surveys are made more accessible and way more intelligent. With a simple online survey, a firm can acquire statistics, data metrics and other information that can improve overall business operations.
Surveys can be customized to capture the necessary information a specific business is looking for. The results from these surveys are reliable and can provide more insight into a business area. If you are planning to create an online survey for your business goals, make sure you partner with a provider that offers a smart form building application without having to worry about coding. You can create your form using their technology which empowers you to create surveys that work for your organization.
The provider’s online form solution will provide you with powerful Key Performance Indicators and metrics. Well-designed surveys always lead to better decisions as they quickly collect the necessary information. Survey research through technology and online platforms have eliminated relying on unreliable information.
Here are some types of survey research that have been successful for businesses worldwide:
1. Descriptive
This type of survey research is used to examine a population or phenomenon. The survey helps to describe the nature of the research topic. It is commonly used in the fashion industry where apparel companies are looking to study demographics and identify purchasing patterns of buyers. Descriptive research can involve both quantitative and qualitative methods used for statistical analysis.
2. Analytical
This survey research concentrates on why a situation exists. It is famous for customer analysis used to build customer lifetime value for products and services. Businesses succeed because they use this survey to examine what the consumers purchase and understand what motivates them.
Through this research, companies can split their customers into segments with similar traits and motivations. A popular type of survey includes the customer satisfaction survey that measures customer satisfaction with a product or service.
3. Exploratory
If you are looking to solve a problem, the exploratory survey research can help to study and define the issues at hand clearly. It provides conclusive evidence and a full understanding of the problem. The goal of this survey research is to explore topics in great depth that can lead to further investigation and analysis.
These types of survey research are often used to develop robust marketing and business strategies. When used in business, it can provide areas of potential growth, alternative course of action, and prioritize areas that need solutions.
4. Cross-Sectional
This survey method is designed to investigate the association of related or unrelated parameters. The method is based on a sample group. It helps to collect data to make inferences about a population. The survey also studies the relationship between two variables. This method is commonly used in the field of psychology. The information for this survey is collected at one time, which makes it easier for researchers to complete their analysis.
5. Longitudinal
Unlike the cross-sectional survey, with the longitudinal design, you will be collecting data from a sample group over time and at different intervals. This survey is used to study variables over a period of time and to examine the effects of time on these variables.
Researchers highly value these types of survey research, since they offer in-depth insight that is not easily obtainable. It has helped to look at changes and trends over time. This type of survey is good for clinical research and even if companies are looking to study trends and patterns over time. Even though this survey research takes time, the main advantage of this method is that it offers high accuracy when observing changes.
6. Random Sampling
As the simplest form of collecting data, random sampling focuses on observation of a random selection group that represents the population. This survey requires a computer-generated process to make accurate inferences. It is easy to use and can provide an accurate representation even though it is a sample group.
Random sampling can be used for employee surveys and brand awareness surveys. Random sampling is a popular technique for determining the opinions and attitudes of citizens through a selected group of citizens.
7. Conclusive
This type of survey is designed to answer specific questions and make correct decisions on the best way forward. If you and your research team are looking for definite conclusions, then the conclusive approach will benefit your research. Conclusive surveys are commonly used for market research.
8. Retrospective
If there is a need to review past events, then the retrospective survey is the right method. You can gather data based on past experiences and beliefs of people. This type of survey is used in medicine, ecology, criminology, as well as research within other disciplines.