I'd like people's opinion on how to best deliver a survey to a group of around 2,000 households. The budget is tight. I have a $1,000 that could be used either as:
(a) prizemoney for completion of the survey, that is delivered by flyer to all mailboxes, or
(b) be spent paying someone to deliver the survey face-to-face, but to much fewer households.
I feel that within the budget scope, both might achieve the same sample size, but the former is easier. Any thoughts?
(a) prizemoney for completion of the survey, that is delivered by flyer to all mailboxes, or
(b) be spent paying someone to deliver the survey face-to-face, but to much fewer households.
I feel that within the budget scope, both might achieve the same sample size, but the former is easier. Any thoughts?
My apologies for not seeing your inquiry sooner.
Given that your budget is tight, you might consider conducting phone-based surveys. With phone-based surveys, you will most likely obtain a higher response rate than mail-based surveys, and it could be less expensive to pay someone to make the calls than to go door-to-door (i.e. it is faster and more efficient). The person who makes the calls can also do random-digit dialling to ensure a random sample of community residents. Another advantage is that phone access is possible in difficult-to-reach populations (e.g. those living in high rise apartments).
I hope this helps.
Source: McKenzie-Mohr, D. (2011). Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community-Based Social Marketing. Gabriola Island: New Society Publishers.