10 Types of Survey Methods And What Exactly They Are

Surveys are a great tool to understand your target audience, gain their feedback, and optimize your business processes to meet their evolving needs. But how do you understand which survey type fits your brand objectives?

If you are looking for surveys that can gather maximum insights from your target audience, your search ends here. In this article, we discuss 10 different types of survey methods that you can use in your market research and their pros and cons so you can make the right choice.

What Is A Survey Method?

A survey method is a systematic approach to collecting information from a sample of individuals to gain insights related to your market research. Surveys can be used to gather your audience’s information about a wide range of topics, including their demographics, behaviors, opinions, or their personal experiences with your products and services.

There are different types of survey methods that you can incorporate into your research such as online surveys, telephone surveys, and interviews to name a few.

The choice of survey method depends on several factors including:

• Research questions
• Target audience
• Resources available
• The need for qualitative or quantitative data

Here are some of the most common survey methods in research so that you can choose the one that’s right for you.

10 Different Types Of Survey Methods

While there are multiple ways to survey your sample audience, it all boils down to your unique needs and available resources. We have listed the top 10 survey methods that can be used in your market research, so let’s look at each of them in detail.

1. Online Surveys: These surveys are conducted over the internet, typically through a survey platform or different online channels.
2. Telephone Surveys: Surveys that are conducted over the phone, either through a live interviewer or an automated system.
3. Mail Surveys: In this method, surveys are sent to individuals through the postal service and completed on paper.
4. In-person Surveys: These surveys are conducted in a face-to-face interview with the respondent.
5. Pop-up Surveys: Short, real-time surveys that collect responses through a pop-up on your website or app.
6. Focus Group Surveys: Surveys that are conducted with a small, representative group of individuals to gather in-depth opinions and perspectives.
7. Paper Surveys: In this method, surveys are completed using a paper questionnaire in cases where your respondents cannot access online surveys.
8. Panel Sampling: Survey method that collects information from a selected panel of people who take recurring surveys over a time period.
9. Kiosk Surveys: These surveys are often conducted in a physical location where respondents answer immediately following an interaction.
10. SMS Surveys: Surveys that are sent to individuals through text messages.

Online Surveys

Online surveys are one of the most popular types of survey methods used by businesses. As the name suggests, they are conducted online over the internet, typically through a survey platform, or other channels like email, WhatsApp, or the website.

Pros of Online Surveys:

• These surveys can reach a large number of participants quickly through multiple channels, regardless of their location.
• They are rich in features including multimedia elements, in-built templates, skip logic, and ready-to-use questions.
• The surveys can be customized to suit the needs and styles of your brand.
• Online surveys are often less expensive than other survey methods, as they do not require the costs associated with printing, mailing, or in-person data collection.
• The data collected through online surveys can be easily stored and analyzed, making it simpler to convert the information into actionable insights.

Cons of Online Surveys:

• Online surveys rely on the internet, and may not be accessible to all participants, particularly those who do not have reliable internet access.
• The response rate for online surveys can be lower than other survey methods, as some respondents may not be motivated to complete the survey. Here’s how you can encourage your audience to take your surveys.

Telephone Surveys

This survey technique involves collecting data from respondents through phone calls. In this method, a trained interviewer asks a set of predetermined questions to a sample audience over the phone.

The answers are then recorded, either manually or through an automated system, and analyzed to gather insights related to the research.

Pros of Telephone Survey Method:

• Telephone surveys allow you to interact with your audience directly which has the potential of fostering relationships.
• Compared to other data collection methods, such as in-person interviews or mail surveys, telephone surveys are relatively inexpensive.
• The data collected through telephone surveys can be analyzed and processed in real-time, allowing for quicker insights and decision-making.

Cons of Telephone Survey Method:

• Some respondents may not be truthful when answering questions over the phone, especially if the topic is sensitive or personal.
• The quality of the data collected through telephone surveys can be affected by the interviewer’s skills and the questions asked.
• Some questions may require visual aids or be too complex to answer on the phone.

Mail Surveys

In the mail survey method, you send out surveys to the participants via postal mail. Participants fill out the survey questionnaire and then post it back to you.

Since this method requires higher efforts from the participant’s end, it’s a good idea to clearly highlight the survey purpose and associated incentives to ensure they are interested.

Pros Of Mail Surveys:

• It provides you with the chance to ask open-ended questions.
• Because the survey is self-administered, there is less potential for interviewer bias to influence the results.

Cons Of Mail Surveys:

• One of the major challenges of mail surveys is that the response rates can be very low
• The process of designing, printing, mailing, and processing the surveys can be time-consuming and require significant resources.

In-Person Surveys

The in-person survey is usually conducted face-to-face by an interviewer and requires minimal effort from the participants. The interviewer asks the questions, and the responses are recorded for analysis.

Since the interviewer interacts directly with the respondents, they can provide real-time clarifications or gather extra information as needed.

Pros Of In-Person Surveys:

• These surveys often have a higher response rate as your target audience is more likely to agree to participate if approached in person.
• Respondents can receive clarification on unclear questions during the interview, leading to higher-quality data.
• In-person surveys can include open-ended questions, allowing for detailed responses.
• Display of visual cues is possible, facilitating a better audience response.

Cons Of In-Person Surveys:

• The surveys can be expensive, as they require trained interviewers, travel costs, and other resources.
• In-person surveys take longer to complete as each interview must be conducted individually.
• Interviewers may unconsciously influence the responses of participants, leading to interviewer bias.

Pop-Up Surveys

Pop-up surveys appear as short questionnaire that pops up on your website. This method is often used to gather immediate attention from website visitors and allow responses in real time.

Pros Of Pop-Up Surveys:

• Pop-up surveys are quick and easy for participants to complete as they can take the survey right on the website they are visiting.
• You can target specific questions for your website visitors
• It provides real-time data as participants can complete the survey immediately after it appears.

Cons Of Pop-Up Surveys:

• Pop-up surveys can be interruptive for website visitors as they may appear at an inconvenient time or disrupt the website experience.
• These typically allow for only closed-ended questions, limiting the data that can be collected.
• It can accommodate only very limited questions.

Focus Group Surveys

Focus group surveys are a qualitative research method in which a small, targeted group of individuals are brought together to discuss and provide feedback on a particular topic or product.

The group is moderated by a trained facilitator, who guides the discussion and encourages the participants to share their thoughts, opinions, and experiences. The group discussions are video recorded with permission of respondents that help deeper analysis of views shared by them.

Pros Of Focus Group Surveys:

• Focus groups can provide in-depth and insightful feedback as participants can discuss their thoughts and experiences in a group setting.
• You can gather diverse perspectives
• It is an engaging format for participants as they can interact with each other and share their opinions in a supportive and collaborative environment.
• Visual cues, product sample etc., are possible.

Cons Of Focus Group Surveys:

• It can get expensive as it requires the rental of a facility, the cost of a moderator, and the compensation of participants.
• Focus groups typically have a small sample size, which limits the generalizability of the findings.
• The participants may be influenced by the presence of others, leading to social desirability bias or groupthink.
• Care should be taken by the moderator to ensure that the discussions are not dominated by an individual from the group.

Paper Surveys

Paper surveys are a traditional method of collecting data using written questionnaires. This a great option to reach the audience who cannot be targeted online.

Pros Of Paper Surveys:

• Paper surveys can be distributed to participants who may not have access to technology or the internet.
• They do not require the use of specialized software or technology.
• It can be designed for the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data.

Cons Of Paper Surveys:

• Unlike online surveys, paper surveys can be time-consuming and difficult to analyze as the data must be manually entered into a database.
• It does not allow for the inclusion of multimedia elements such as images, videos, or audio recordings, which limits the data that can be collected.

Panel Sampling

In this research method, a selected group of individuals are repeatedly surveyed over time to assess changes in their attitudes, behaviors, or other characteristics. The panelists are chosen based on a set of criteria, such as their demographics, and are asked to participate in the survey multiple times.

Pros Of Panel Sampling:

• By surveying the same individuals multiple times, you get a unique and valuable longitudinal perspective on the issue being studied.
• Because panelists are surveyed multiple times, it increases the reliability of the results and provides a better understanding of the underlying issues.
• Higher response rate as panelists who have already participated in a survey are more likely to participate again.

Cons Of Panel Sampling:

• The panelists are chosen based on a set of criteria, which can introduce selection bias into the results if the criteria are not representative of the population being studied.
• Panelists may have difficulty recalling their attitudes or behaviors from previous surveys, which can lead to inaccuracies in the results.

Kiosk Surveys

This type of survey is implemented through self-serviced computer terminals set up in public places for collecting feedback from customers.

The surveys are usually conducted via interactive touch screens and can be used for a variety of purposes including market research, customer satisfaction measurement, and other types of data collection.

Pros of Kiosk Surveys:

• The surveys are less intrusive and offer more privacy which can improve both response rate and quality.
• It can provide real-time data collection, allowing organizations to quickly respond to customer feedback.
• They can be customized to suit the specific needs of the organization, including branding and the design of the survey itself.

Cons of Kiosk Surveys:

• It is limited to those individuals who visit the physical location where the kiosk is located.
• Kiosk surveys can be vulnerable to technical issues, such as hardware failure or software glitches.
• These surveys often lack the ability to collect demographic data, such as age, gender, or income, which can limit the usefulness of the results.

SMS Surveys

SMS surveys are a type of survey method that uses text messages to collect information from respondents. They are typically short, with questions and response options sent and received via mobile phone.

Pros Of SMS Surveys:

• The surveys are quick and easy to complete, and respondents can respond from anywhere at any time.
• SMS surveys typically have higher response rates as text messages are often opened and read promptly.

Cons Of SMS Surveys:

• They typically have limited response options (e.g. multiple-choice answers), which can make it difficult to gather more complex information.
• Some respondents may be concerned about the privacy of their personal information when providing answers to an SMS survey.

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How Reviewfy.io Can Help

Your business may benefit from one or a mix of survey methods depending on your needs, target audience, and available resources. But choosing the survey type is only one aspect of the entire process – a successful survey campaign requires a lot more from your team.

One way to simplify this process and ensure high-quality responses is to leverage the power of automated survey tools. Reviewfy.io helps you create personalized, easy-to-respond surveys that are designed to maximize responses while providing you with meaningful insights. To try the tool completely for free, Sign Up Now.

FAQs to target:

1. What are the 4 types of surveys?

The types of surveys are:

1. Online Survey
2. Paper Survey
3. Telephone Survey
4. In-person Survey

2. What are the main types of surveys?

While there are multiple ways to conduct surveys, the main 10 types of surveys most used include–

• Online Surveys
• Telephone Surveys
• Mail Surveys
• In-person Surveys
• Pop-Up Surveys
• Focus Group Surveys
• Paper Surveys
• Panel Sampling
• Kiosk Surveys
• SMS Surveys