ACE Presentation Preparation: Market Research Survey Improvements
I could have improved my survey questions in many different ways.
Q1: What is your Gender?
The only answers I allowed participants to select for this question was male and female.
This is a problem as I could have made this question more inclusive for participants who identify as a different gender to male or female. One participant skipped this question which means that they didn't fit with either categories and therefore in future an "other" box may be a good option for those who identify as gender neutral etc.
Q2: What is your Age?
I could have improved this question by making the ranges between each age smaller.
The ranges included 17 or younger, 18 - 20 and 21 - 29 which is quite a big jump and therefore in future could include a 21 - 25 and 26 - 29. I chose these age ranges because participants 17 or younger would usually be in primary/secondary school, participants 18 - 20 would usually be in college and 21 - 29 would either be in university or employment. The range from 21 - 25 would usually include people who are in university or have just graduated while 26 - 29 would include participants in employment. It is important that these ranges exist to grasp what stage participants are in their educational/professional career. I believe at 20 - 29 you are classed as a young adult and therefore still be part of the target audience.
Q3: Would you say you have grown up more in the....
This question could have been more specific as participants may have grown up in a town which is usually classed as living in a city however, if this town was more rural the countryside may have been chosen as an answer.
This question is also based on the participants opinion rather on where they actually grew up which can present problems as you may have felt that you grew up in the countryside but now you live in a city. This becomes difficult because you may have spent more time in the city than the countryside even though you felt like you grew up there.
The reason I asked this question was to gain some insight on whether the participants were classed as "urban". The only was I could differentiate this was by using the association between "urban" and living in the city and therefore asked this as a question. This question could have been improved by being re-worded so that the answers gathered were more accurate. Therefore I could have asked, "Where have you spent the most time in?" and had City/Town or Countryside as answers
Another problem with this question is that although you may have lived/grew up in the countryside you may associate your self as "urban" as you have been influenced by this city culture online or through social media. The word urban has been used to describe popular dance music of black origin, therefore if I was to ask, "Do you consider yourself as "urban"?" the answers I may receive that are not what was intended by the question as it may be interpreted differentially.
Q4: Do you like coffee?
The answers for this question could have been improved by giving participants more choices of answers. The only options I gave were yes or no which could be a problem as participants may not have drank coffee before meaning that they have no opinion on coffee. Therefore I could have given this option as an answer.
Q5: Which of the instant coffee brands would you buy, or would consider buying based on visual appearance only?
This question could have been improved by making it shorter. The most important part of this question is to find out which coffee brand participants found more visually appealing. However if they did not read the question properly due to its length, then participants may have chosen the coffee that they like the taste of or purchase often which skews the results. Therefore to improve this question, I could have re-worded it to, "Based on visual appearance only, which of the coffee brands would you consider buying?" which solves this problem.
Another improvement I would make is adding more instant coffee brands for answers to this question so that there is a wider variety of brands and packaging to choose from.
Q6: Why did you specifically choose the instant coffee brand in the previous question?
This question could have improved by not allowing participants to skip this question as 5 participants did not answer this question. As it is the most important question in the survey, this question should have required an answer to complete the survey.
The question itself could have been improved as participants wrote why the liked the coffee rather than what they liked about the packaging. Therefore to improve the question I could have asked, "Based on visual appearance, why did you like the instant coffee's packaging chosen in the previous question?".
Q1: What is your Gender?
The only answers I allowed participants to select for this question was male and female.
This is a problem as I could have made this question more inclusive for participants who identify as a different gender to male or female. One participant skipped this question which means that they didn't fit with either categories and therefore in future an "other" box may be a good option for those who identify as gender neutral etc.
Q2: What is your Age?
I could have improved this question by making the ranges between each age smaller.
The ranges included 17 or younger, 18 - 20 and 21 - 29 which is quite a big jump and therefore in future could include a 21 - 25 and 26 - 29. I chose these age ranges because participants 17 or younger would usually be in primary/secondary school, participants 18 - 20 would usually be in college and 21 - 29 would either be in university or employment. The range from 21 - 25 would usually include people who are in university or have just graduated while 26 - 29 would include participants in employment. It is important that these ranges exist to grasp what stage participants are in their educational/professional career. I believe at 20 - 29 you are classed as a young adult and therefore still be part of the target audience.
Q3: Would you say you have grown up more in the....
This question could have been more specific as participants may have grown up in a town which is usually classed as living in a city however, if this town was more rural the countryside may have been chosen as an answer.
This question is also based on the participants opinion rather on where they actually grew up which can present problems as you may have felt that you grew up in the countryside but now you live in a city. This becomes difficult because you may have spent more time in the city than the countryside even though you felt like you grew up there.
The reason I asked this question was to gain some insight on whether the participants were classed as "urban". The only was I could differentiate this was by using the association between "urban" and living in the city and therefore asked this as a question. This question could have been improved by being re-worded so that the answers gathered were more accurate. Therefore I could have asked, "Where have you spent the most time in?" and had City/Town or Countryside as answers
Another problem with this question is that although you may have lived/grew up in the countryside you may associate your self as "urban" as you have been influenced by this city culture online or through social media. The word urban has been used to describe popular dance music of black origin, therefore if I was to ask, "Do you consider yourself as "urban"?" the answers I may receive that are not what was intended by the question as it may be interpreted differentially.
Q4: Do you like coffee?
The answers for this question could have been improved by giving participants more choices of answers. The only options I gave were yes or no which could be a problem as participants may not have drank coffee before meaning that they have no opinion on coffee. Therefore I could have given this option as an answer.
Q5: Which of the instant coffee brands would you buy, or would consider buying based on visual appearance only?
This question could have been improved by making it shorter. The most important part of this question is to find out which coffee brand participants found more visually appealing. However if they did not read the question properly due to its length, then participants may have chosen the coffee that they like the taste of or purchase often which skews the results. Therefore to improve this question, I could have re-worded it to, "Based on visual appearance only, which of the coffee brands would you consider buying?" which solves this problem.
Another improvement I would make is adding more instant coffee brands for answers to this question so that there is a wider variety of brands and packaging to choose from.
Q6: Why did you specifically choose the instant coffee brand in the previous question?
This question could have improved by not allowing participants to skip this question as 5 participants did not answer this question. As it is the most important question in the survey, this question should have required an answer to complete the survey.
The question itself could have been improved as participants wrote why the liked the coffee rather than what they liked about the packaging. Therefore to improve the question I could have asked, "Based on visual appearance, why did you like the instant coffee's packaging chosen in the previous question?".
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