According to the ESOMAR report online data collection has become of key importance all over the world and is used by an increasing number of companies to get to know their target group, reduce their costs and increase their market share. Representatives of national companies ask our company’s experts for information concerning the advantages and applicability of online research on a regular basis. In order to inform you on the most dynamically increasing data collection method we have collected the most commonly asked questions.

 

 

What is online data collection?

What traditional research methods can be replaced by online data collection?

In which cases can online research replace offline data collection?

When is online data collection inapplicable?

Why should I opt for online data collection?

What are the advantages of online data collection?

What are the disadvantages of online data collection?

If I choose online research, to what extent will data collection costs decrease?

What information do I have to know to choose the market research company most appropriate to carry out online research?

What is an online panel and why is it so important in case of online research?

Does NRC only carry out online research?

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What is online data collection?

Online data collection is a new type of data collection method which combines benefits offered by the internet with the possibility of interactivity. We upload the questionnaire on the internet in electronic form and invite respondents to participate via email. All the respondents have to do is to answer the questions of the questionnaire with a click of the mouse or write down their opinions about the subject of the research.

 

What traditional research methods can be replaced by online data collection?

Telephone and personal data collection can be replaced by online data collection primarily, however, in some cases focus group surveys can be carried out online as well, furthermore, the online version of depth interviews is also possible to find out about the opinions of our target group.

 

In which cases can online research replace offline data collection?

If the proportion of internet users in the target group reaches 50% and the fact that the respondent uses the internet does not influence the subject of the research, it is worth choosing the quicker and cheaper method i.e. online data collection. Now in Hungary online data collection is primarily used in case of consumer and buyer research, with respondents belonging to the under-forty status AB segment, advertisement, product, concept and service tests, internal corporate research and of testing online services.

 

When is online data collection inapplicable?

In case you would like to find out about opinions of domestic population, persons of status CDE or over forty, the applicability of online data collection is limited for the time being, due to the relatively low level of internet penetration. The other important factor to consider before choosing online data collection is the subject of the research. In case the fact that the respondent uses the internet influences attitude to the subject, traditional data collection methods are recommended. For instance, in case of media consumption surveys the internet as medium influences media consumption therefore this fact is to be taken into consideration at the planning stage of the research. However, the application of mixed data collection is possible even in this case in order to lower costs of data collection.

The good news is that with the increase of internet penetration a growing number of target groups can be reached by online data collection methods.

 

Why should I opt for online data collection?

Companies requiring market research choose online data collection because it provides RELIABLE and AUTHENTIC data besides target groups increasingly difficult to reach can be interviewed, too. Furthermore, it is QUICK and the data collection involves significantly LOWER COSTS. Every company aims to cut costs, however, in order to increase their market share they definitely need to know their buyers, consumers and competitors. The method of online data collection offers you the opportunity to obtain information helping you with your decisions in a rather quick and cost-effective way. Experts at NRC choose the method most appropriate for the target group and the objectives of your research, be it online, personal or telephone data collection.

 

What are the advantages of online data collection?

Quickness and cost-effectiveness would not be enough to make online data-collection popular with companies as the most important criterion of data collection is to provide reliable and authentic data for companies. In case of research within the appropriate target group online data collection can help our clients with the following real advantages:

1. Online research eliminates interviewers’ errors: the interviewer can influence respondents depending on whether the respondent is a man or a woman, quick or slow or if they are in a good or a bad mood. When selecting the sample the interviewer might want to interview people they like, which is another possible error. The fact that respondents are more willing to answer questions of interviewers who they like can lead to further difficulties.

2. The costs of online research are lower: data collection costs of online research are lower as the price does not include costs of interviewers, printing, transport and transcribing. The price is primarily determined by the costs of the construction and management of the panel of which the share of one survey is lower than the costs of personal or telephone research.

3. Quicker data collection: while traditional interviewers can only speak to one person at a time, on the internet hundreds or thousands of respondents can answer the questions of a questionnaire simultaneously thus reducing the length of data collection.

4. More accurate answers: instead of questions read by interviewers online respondents encounter questions and possible responses composed by researchers, which can reduce the number of interviewers’ errors.

5. Recollection is better: online respondents do not feel pressured to give quick responses therefore they consider their answers more thoroughly, choose more than one brand at multiple choice questions and recall information more accurately, for instance last month’s phone bill.

6. Responses are more detailed: as online respondents have more time to respond, their responses to open-ended questions are more considerate and elaborate. In online data collection interviewers cannot shorten respondents’ answers.

7. The use of images, videos and audio materials in the research: in traditional paper-based and telephone questioning there is no possibility for the presentation and testing of multimedia materials, advertisements and products. However, online data collection provides opportunities to find out about the target groups’ opinion integrating images, sound, videos or even a 3D virtual ‘world’.

8. It is easier to reach target groups difficult to avail and it enhances respondents’ willingness: it is easier to reach respondents relatively difficult to avail (e.g. physicians, decision makers, users of certain brands) via the internet with a well-constructed online panel (netpanel) than through traditional questioning.In case of online research anonymity and the fact that participants can fill out the questionnaire whenever they have time enhance respondents’ willingness.

9. Complex questionnaires can be constructed: the structure of online questionnaires can be significantly more complex than that of traditional ones as a computer program can keep track of multitudes of conditions and leaps based on responses to previous questions much more efficiently than an interviewer who is more likely to err in case of a complex condition.

 

What are the disadvantages of online data collection?

The greatest disadvantage of online research is the fact that internet penetration is not over 80%. For Hungarian companies this indicates that it is not possible to do research representative to the whole population of the country and there are target groups that are not available by the quick and cost-effective method of online research. Fortunately, an increasing proportion of the population starts using the internet, which implies that online data collection can be applied increasingly in market research.

Another disadvantage commonly mentioned concerning online data collection is the fact that respondents’ identity is difficult to check. Online panel or netpanel systems provide a reassuring solution as a research panel always consists of respondents previously checked; the company constructing the panel checks their demographic data logically and/or on the phone.

Some say that respondents may lie. Unfortunately this may not only apply to online data collection, however, sociological research shows that people who respond to the questions of interviewers or fill out questionnaires tell the truth as there is no pressure that would force them to lie. Filling out questionnaires is voluntary and anonymous, besides researchers want to find out about respondents’ answers exclusively. Why would they lie? Respondents do not lie.

Naturally, our firm checks respondents and their responses logically and content-wise in every survey and questionnaires of respondents inappropriate for the research are not taken into consideration in the analysis stage.

If I choose online research, to what extent will data collection costs decrease?

If online data collection is compared to a 25-minute-long, 1000-respondent survey, the price of data collection is 40 to 70% lower. Compared to a telephone survey with the same parameters the price is 25 to 50% lower.

 

What information do I have to know to choose the market research company most appropriate to carry out online research?

When ordering market research, apart from the price and the time consumption of the research every company needs to know what experience the market research company making the offer has in the area of online research as the questioning method of online surveys and the construction technique of the questionnaire significantly differs from personal/telephone interviews lead by interviewers. In each inquiry for online you sould ask the bidder the following questions:

• How many years’ market research experience do you have in the area of online research?
• What references do you have? What types of research have you carried out?
• How many members does the panel have which you invite respondents from to participate in the online research?
• When did you start to construct the online panel?
• What software do you use to manage the panel and the online surveys?
• Is the questionnaire constructed by a programmer or you use a program to construct the questionnaires?
• How are members of the panel recruited? (Here, of course, the more reliable panels are the ones where members are not only invited online but through offline research, too.)
• What offline/traditional research do you use to get information about changes concerning the composition and the size of internet society?
• What data do you use to weight surveys representative of internet users?
• How do you check panel members and the responses of those filling in the questionnaires?

 

What is an online panel and why is it so important in case of online research?

Without an online panel it is impossible to carry out good quality research. An online panel is not a list of email addresses but a managed data base consisting of respondents previously checked and data collection is carried out with controlled sample selection based on the knowledge of personal data, availability and basic demographic features of registered internet users. A proper quality netpanel consists of minimum 30000 members; it is checked constantly and involves regular re-registration of members furthermore the management system enables the researcher to choose from the basic population respondents to be invited to the research by controlled sample selection. Another important criterion of the appropriate online panel is that members are not only recruited from a few dozens of websites but also offline i.e. through traditional methods (personal/telephone interviews).

 

+ 1 question

Does NRC only carry out online research?

No. NRC offers the best data collection method in each case. Our company applies telephone, personal, focus group and depth interview methods in the surveys as well, since online data collection is just another means to reduce the costs and the length of research.

 

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