Survey and Quant Observation Techniques

Survey Types
 * Phone
 * Need house phone
 * home phones declining these days
 * Cheap and Fast
 * Non-response easy
 * Need an up-to-date sampling frame for this to be possible
 * Online
 * Need internet connectivity
 * most people have internet connectivity
 * but will mostly be for young technologically literate people
 * Cheap, fast and easy
 * Non-response easy
 * Can reach many many many people
 * Follow up easy
 * No interviwer error
 * In-Person
 * Expensive and time-consuming
 * Can probe for questions
 * Need to train interviewers or hire professionals
 * Small sample size
 * High Quality
 * Good for image-based issues
 * Potential for interviewer error
 * Mail
 * Cheaper than other methods
 * Follow up easy
 * No interviewer error
 * Household information possible
 * Personal/Embarrassing information can be asked
 * Avoid problem of not-at-home problem
 * High non-response
 * Spontaneous answers not possible
 * Can't supplement data with observational data

Evaluating Survey Methods
 * Cost
 * Speed
 * Number of people reached
 * Interviewer error possibility
 * Response rate
 * Flexibility of data collection
 * Diversity of questions
 * Quantity of data
 * Percieved Respondent Anonymity
 * Interviewer bias
 * Obtaining sensitive information

Observation Techniques
 * Undisguised. Sample knows they are being observed.
 * Disguised. The sample doesn't know data is being collected from them. Eg: Mystery Shopping
 * Structured. Observer knows what they want from the sample
 * Unstructured. The observer records everything happening in the situation without a specific goal.
 * Natural. Respondent behaviour is observed in an environment where the respondent acts normally.
 * Contrived. A situation is set up where the respondent is forced to act a certain way.