See the first three steps here.
In essence, I am answering the question, "Where can I find the eligible respondent?"
Bank employees can be reached via email, as the bank provides the contact list. Moreover, the bank has decided to invite all 2,800 employees, without applying any additional selection criteria.
Oncologists can be found in hospitals, whether public or private. Alternatively, they can be reached by phone, provided I have a database containing all oncologists in Romania. Email is also an option, but with the same condition—having access to a comprehensive database of all oncologists. If there are only a few hundred oncologists in reality, but my database contains only 100, then I cannot conduct probabilistic sampling.
SMEs with 10 or more employees are registered with the Trade Registry, where addresses and phone numbers are available. I would also know the locality/county where they operate. There are companies that sell such data, and even the Trade Registry has pricing per company. There are two options: either send an operator to the address or call the number listed in the database. It seems promising to conduct the study. We’ll see later what challenges arise—every target comes with its own set of difficulties.
If I need to conduct a study among the +18 population nationwide, I have two options:
a) Send an operator into the field—to fixed addresses (randomly selected in advance) or using the random route method.
b) Randomly generate phone numbers.
If the target is 18-60-year-olds in urban areas who use the Internet, I have three options:
a) Send an operator into the field—to fixed addresses or using the random route method.
b) Randomly generate phone numbers.
c) Send invitations to an online respondent panel.
You might think this is overcomplicating things, but yes, experience is needed to give an exact answer. I don’t expect exact figures. An approximate answer based on intuition is sufficient.
Bank employees: How enthusiastic will employees be about their managers’ idea to conduct a satisfaction survey? The exact answer can be provided by the bank commissioning the survey if they’ve undertaken similar initiatives in the past. If not exact, at least something similar. What is the level of employee engagement when it comes to actions initiated by HR/management?
Oncologists: How likely are oncologists to respond to an invitation to answer a few questions about a pharmaceutical company? Is this a vital issue for doctors—significant enough to motivate them professionally/personally? From personal experience, doctors are the busiest segment, often lacking time. Under what conditions would a doctor talk to an interviewer? How do sales representatives who approach doctors manage?
SME decision-makers: I’ll be speaking with decision-makers regarding technology/digital services. Is this target more available and willing to answer questions compared to oncologists? Perhaps yes, perhaps no.
What will the average interview duration be? Any approach is suitable for an interview lasting up to 20 minutes. As the duration increases, options become limited. For interviews exceeding 35 minutes, face-to-face (F2F) is preferable.
Are there visual materials to show the respondent?
Are the questionnaire topics ordinary day-to-day matters, or do they address sensitive or complex issues?
How willing will the respondent be to answer via phone or F2F?
The choice becomes somewhat automatic once I answer the questions in points 4, 5, and 6—where to find the eligible respondent and what method minimizes the refusal rate. Whether the questionnaire is simple or complex, short or long—these are details not to be overlooked.
With this information, I have everything I need to choose the sampling method and design the methodology.
