ives such as money and second mailings, most end up with only about a 5 to 15 percent response rate. This means you do not know the opinions of 85 to 95 percent of the people you wish to study. In addition, those individuals who do not respond to a mail survey are often different from those who do. For example, older retirees are more likely to have the time and inclination to fill out and return a questionWhen people speak of marketing research, they are usually referring to quantitative research. Quantitative research involves a survey of a selected sample of a specific group using mail, telephone or in-person interviews.

Data is collected by means of a carefully constructed questionnaire that is pre-tested before the actual survey. Completed questionnaires are edited, and verbatim responses to open-ended questions are coded using pre-developed categories. The data from the questionnaires is entered into a computer for tabulation of results. Final computer outputs, or "tables," are then ready for analysis. It is important for both research buyers and users to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each of the various research approaches so they can select the technique that best meets their needs at a cost within their budgets.

Mail Surveys

Mail Surveys were extremely popular during the 1950s and 60s when the costs of telephone interviewing were prohibitively high. Mail surveys are still widely used today, although the advent of the WATS telephone service has made telephone surveys much more cost competitive. The major strength of mail surveys is still their relatively low price. For the price of postage, materials and printing, a small business can conduct a very cost-effective research study. In addition, since the respondent actually receives materials from the researcher, illustrative or test documents can be included in the mail-out.

The major drawback to mail surveys is their very low rate of return, or response rate. Even with incentives such as money and second mailings, most end up with only about a 5 to 15 percent response rate. This means you do not know the opinions of 85 to 95 percent of the people you wish to study. In addition, those individuals who do not respond to a mail survey are often different from those who do. For example, older retirees are more likely to have the time and inclination to fill out and return a questionm responses to open-ended questions are coded using pre-developed categories. The data from the questionnaires is entered into a computer for tabulation of results. Final computer outputs, or "tables," are then ready for analysis. It is important for both research buyers and users to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each of the various research approaches so they can select the technique that best meets their needs at a cost within their budgets.

Mail Surveys

Mail Surveys were extremely popular during the 1950s and 60s when the costs of telephone interviewing were prohibitively high. Mail surveys are still widely used today, although the advent of the WATS telephone service has made telephone surveys much more cost competitive. The major strength of mail surveys is still their relatively low price. For the price of postage, materials and printing, a small business can conduct a very cost-effective research study. In addition, since the respondent actually receives materials from the researcher, illustrative or test documents can be included in the mail-out.

The major drawback to mail surveys is their very low rate of return, or response rate. Even with incentives such as money and second mailings, most end up with only about a 5 to 15 percent response rate. This means you do not know the opinions of 85 to 95 percent of the people you wish to study. In addition, those individuals who do not respond to a mail survey are often different from those who do. For example, older retirees are more likely to have the time and inclination to fill out and return a questiont meets their needs at a cost within their budgets.

Mail Surveys

Mail Surveys were extremely popular during the 1950s and 60s when the costs of telephone interviewing were prohibitively high. Mail surveys are still widely used today, although the advent of the WATS telephone service has made telephone surveys much more cost competitive. The major strength of mail surveys is still their relatively low price. For the price of postage, materials and printing, a small business can conduct a very cost-effective research study. In addition, since the respondent actually receives materials from the researcher, illustrative or test documents can be included in the mail-out.

The major drawback to mail surveys is their very low rate of return, or response rate. Even with incentives such as money and second mailings, most end up with only about a 5 to 15 percent response rate. This means you do not know the opinions of 85 to 95 percent of the people you wish to study. In addition, those individuals who do not respond to a mail survey are often different from those who do. For example, older retirees are more likely to have the time and inclination to fill out and return a question still their relatively low price. For the price of postage, materials and printing, a small business can conduct a very cost-effective research study. In addition, since the respondent actually receives materials from the researcher, illustrative or test documents can be included in the mail-out.

The major drawback to mail surveys is their very low rate of return, or response rate. Even with incentives such as money and second mailings, most end up with only about a 5 to 15 percent response rate. This means you do not know the opinions of 85 to 95 percent of the people you wish to study. In addition, those individuals who do not respond to a mail survey are often different from those who do. For example, older retirees are more likely to have the time and inclination to fill out and return a questionives such as money and second mailings, most end up with only about a 5 to 15 percent response rate. This means you do not know the opinions of 85 to 95 percent of the people you wish to study. In addition, those individuals who do not respond to a mail survey are often different from those who do. For example, older retirees are more likely to have the time and inclination to fill out and return a questionnaire while single people between the ages of 25 and 35 are much less likely to do so.

Different research techniques such as incentives and telephone reminders can boost the response rate to as much as 50 percent, but all these methods add to the price of the study, thereby defeating the purpose of selecting this technique in the first place.

In-Person Interviews

Many of us are familiar with in-person interviews. Every ten years, the U.S. Census Department knocks on doors to conduct in-person interviews and find out how the population has changed. In-person, or personal interviews, involve a face-to-face meeting between an interviewer and a respondent. Using a prepared questionnaire, the interviewer asks the respondent a series of questions and carefully records the answers. These interviews take place either at the respondent's home or place of business or at a well-traveled location, such as a shopping mall.

Unlike mail surveys, personal interviews usually result in a very high completion rate. Response rates as high as 95 percent are not unheard of. In addition, in-person interviews allow the respondent to physically come in contact with proposed products, services or advertising under the guidance of the interviewer. This one-on-one interaction is why in-person interviews are often used in researching advertising copy or packaging designs.

The biggest problem with in-person interviews, however, is their extremely high price. Since an interviewer is required to either visit the respondents at their homes or businesses or track them down in shopping ma