The methodologies used in administering these types of surveys have dramatically changed in recent times with the use of new advanced technology. The survey research these days is used in finding out the opinions of the survey respondents for commodity marketing, political purpose or anything which requires popular public opinion before being released. The different types of research methodologies are:
Computer assisted interview : Some of the surveyors collect & analyze the submitted data with the help of computer based interviews. In this case the target respondents are provided with the questionnaires with the help of e-mail which they need to respond to as per their convenient time. Some of the interviews are also conducted using phones with the help of computer based telephone prompts for answering questions repeatedly. Once the survey process is completed, the participants send the answered questionnaire by either attaching it to an e-mail message or it may be routinely uploaded to the call centers. The data can also be studied by the survey analyzers or it can also be entered to a computer program which performs the processing of the same and produces the quantitative results which help the client organization in making strategic business decisions for their future business advancement.
Virtual Call center framework : The virtual call centers utilize VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology to enable the researchers work from the place of their convenience with internet connectivity as VoIP is the cheapest mode of making outgoing calls, especially overseas calls. This advantage abolishes the need to have a workspace which results in massive savings on the infrastructure for the research services providing company in terms of real estate and other establishment expenditures including telephone costs. Through VoIP, one can automatically make outgoing calls and the only things they have to do is to get prepared to provide the pre defined surveys especially when the recipient reciprocates their phone calls. Some of the virtual call centers also provide computer scripts for their convenience.
Capture through PDA : The personal digital assistant (PDA) is hand held equipment which is used in inputting, managing and sharing the collected data. It is used in surveying research data arrangement. Its portability has great convenient factor than other wireless devices. Most of the PDAs are portable enough so that they can be kept inside the pocket and you can operate them single handedly with ease due to good user interface and other features. They have backlit LCD screens which provide great printing visibility. Data capturing using PDAs enables the users to transfer the files to any computer using serial bus ports like USB ports as these PDAs are enabled with USB connectivity.
Survey Data Storage: Survey data collected through a
call center are stored until the completion of statistical analysis with the help of document management software and the data which is stored in the document repository can always be reviewed and commonalities & repetitive answers can be edited or omitted from the database. Incomplete and vague surveys are also removed before the final analysis of the data is performed.
