¶ … administer a five-question survey whilst administering the survey using at least two different methods. The author did indeed compose the survey and administered it in person and via the internet. There were clear differences in response rates and the responses that were garnered from each method. The differences were not surprising but were noticeable and palpable nonetheless.
Response Rate
There was some resistance to each method but it manifested in very different ways. One of the methods used, as noted in the introduction, was in person. Some people were noticeably tepid and hesitant to engage the author and answer the questions. Perhaps they were shy or perhaps they were taken a bit aback by a stranger approaching them out of the blue and asking them questions. They also might have been concerned that the author was simply trying to sell them something. The author made it clear up from with the latter question/answer sessions that it was just a survey, that any question could be skipped if a candid answer was not going to be possible or preferred and that absolutely nothing was being sold or marketed. As for the Internet, drawing any sort of definitive conclusions is much harder but the overall response rate was indeed much lower. This is probably due to how...
There were details and answers given on the internet that were not remotely close to much of the answers given in person. This was no doubt because of the lack of anonymity that exists with the in-person questions vs. The online questions. Perhaps it would have been more illustrative to require the people's name from the online survey (this was not done) to see if the openness was the same. It almost certainly would not have been the same for obvious reasons.
Conclusions from Analysis
As for what can be deciphered and figured out from the answers given for each method, the response rate from each method and the questions themselves, it is clear that people are much more on guard, at least in general, when meeting a stranger in person to answer questions. This was not true across the board as some people who answered the questions in person were quite candid and honest despite the fact that the author of this report could see and actively hear the person as well as read…
