PR Surveys are useful for public relations and communications professionals. They help gain insights that can guide your communication plan in the right direction, or they may help businesses get a real feel for the current lay of the land before a product goes to market.
In market research, the insights you gain from people should provide an overall idea of what your target audience believes or thinks. To gain insights from the right people, you’ll need to know the role of sampling in survey design.
Here are three important things to know about survey sampling:
1. WHAT IS SAMPLING?
Sampling is a method used in quantitative survey studies where a select number of participants are chosen from an overall population to participate in research. A population refers to all people within a group who have a specific, shared commonality. A sample refers to the people within a population from which researchers collect their data in order to infer generalizations about the overall population.
For instance, all people living in the United States are an example of a population, whereas people living in the United States who participate in an online survey study would be an example of that online study’s sample.
2. DETERMINE THE SCOPE OF YOUR SAMPLE.
PR survey samples come in several different shapes and sizes. Some surveys are meant to study the opinions of Americans as a whole. We call these “general population” surveys. A sample of 1,000 – 2,000 participants from throughout the United States should be able to provide solid insights into the minds of the American public.
In scenarios where a more specific audience is warranted – say you’re interested in the opinions of tech executives at mid-sized companies – you’ll need to be sure that you are only reaching the specific audience you have in mind. A sample size of 1,000 would be ideal but is not always feasible (reachable) when targeting more specific subsets of the population. For example, you’ll likely find reaching 1,000 mothers of children under 18 in the U.S. easier than reaching 1,000 tech CEOs who work at a mid-sized U.S. company.
During your initial consultation with 4media group’s Atomik Research team we will help determine if your needs are best suited for a general population survey or a more targeted demographic, so we can ensure your survey reaches the right audience. After deciding if a general population survey or a more specific sample is right you or your client, we will drill down to the specific sample:
- Why are we sampling them?
- How will the research results help your communication objectives?
- What are we asking participants, and how do we ask participants pertinent questions in a way that reduces confusion?
3. ENSURE YOU ARE COLLECTING YOUR DATA FROM THE RIGHT RESPONDENTS.
There are methods to ensure that your data is generalizable to the overall population of interest. For general population, there are specific demographic variables that can be controlled for in the overall sample. Demographic breakdowns in your sample such as gender, geographic region, age, and ethnicity should reflect the overall demographic breakdowns of the entire U.S. population.
Samples that are more specific than general population samples include added measures to filter out participants who fall outside your desired sample of interest. Generally speaking, more specific samples require more budget and take longer to collect data; however, researchers realize the significance of the time and money invested and will implement safeguards to eliminate unwanted participants.
We use multiple checks and balances both in-house and with partners to ensure data accuracy via quota validation, partner algorithms and various other methods to ensure your PR survey data is clean and accurate.
Are you interested in gaining insights from a particular population? Visit our website to see how 4media group’s Insights and Intelligence team can help, or contact us directly to learn more.