“Folks do not assume how they really feel, they do not say what they assume, and so they do not do what they are saying.”

David Ogilvy, Founding father of Ogilvy & Mather

Analysis surveys have grow to be a outstanding function of the B2B advertising panorama in recent times. The rising want to supply efficient thought management content material, and quick access to free or cheap survey applied sciences have led many B2B entrepreneurs to make surveys an integral a part of their advertising efforts.

At this time’s survey know-how instruments make it comparatively simple to create survey devices and conduct on-line surveys. However these instruments do not remove the challenges concerned in designing surveys that produce correct outcomes. In actuality, survey analysis is a fancy matter, and experience is required to do it nicely. The validity of survey information might be affected by quite a few components, lots of which aren’t intuitively apparent.

That is my third submit coping with a variety of points referring to analysis surveys and survey reviews. The primary two posts within the sequence can be found right here and right here.

On this submit, I will give attention to a bunch of points that may have an effect on the accuracy of survey responses. These points are on no account all the components that may impair the validity of survey information, however they’re essential for entrepreneurs to grasp each as producers and customers of survey-based content material.

Response Biases

Skilled researchers have lengthy been conscious that survey respondents do not at all times reply survey questions precisely or honestly. Response bias is the final time period used to explain a number of tendencies of survey individuals to reply inaccurately to survey questions. These biases might be acutely aware or unconscious, and so they can have a major impression on the validity of survey information.

Response biases can happen for quite a lot of causes, and social scientists have outlined a number of types of response bias. Listed here are a number of the extra frequent varieties.

Acquiescence bias (typically known as agreement bias or yea-saying) – Acquiescence bias refers back to the tendency of some survey individuals to pick a “optimistic” response possibility (e.g. agree somewhat than disagree) no matter their precise desire or opinion. The bias is extra more likely to exist when a survey query asks for an opinion and presents two reverse selections, reminiscent of agree/disagree or true/false.

Demand traits – This time period refers to a kind of response bias the place survey individuals alter their responses just because they’re taking a survey. Social scientists argue this bias arises as a result of some survey individuals will attempt to decide what the aim of a survey is after which subconsciously change their responses to suit the perceived objective of the survey.

Query order bias – This time period refers back to the tendency of some survey individuals to reply otherwise to questions primarily based on the order by which the questions are requested. For instance, analysis has discovered if survey individuals are first requested about their common curiosity in a given topic, their responses will point out a larger curiosity than if they’re first requested a selected or technical query about the identical topic.

Excessive response bias – Excessive response bias refers back to the tendency of some survey individuals to solely select essentially the most excessive response choices out there for survey questions. For instance, if a survey gives a sequence of statements and asks individuals to charge their settlement or disagreement with every assertion utilizing a 5-point scale, some individuals will solely give ones or fives as solutions.

There are a number of steps survey designers can take to mitigate the impression of response biases, however none of those strategies is more likely to be 100% efficient.

The Social Desirability Bias

One sort of response bias has grow to be particularly related for entrepreneurs in in the present day’s enterprise surroundings. The social desirability bias refers back to the tendency of survey individuals to reply survey questions in a way they imagine will probably be considered favorably by others versus what they really assume, really feel or do.

This bias is extra more likely to exist when survey questions relate to delicate private matters – reminiscent of alcohol consumption or drug use – or “sizzling button” social matters – such as local weather change or racial range. The social desirability bias can result in the over-reporting of “good” or socially acceptable attitudes and behaviors and the under-reporting of attitudes and behaviors survey individuals understand will probably be considered as “dangerous” or socially unacceptable.

It is essential for entrepreneurs to pay attention to the social desirability bias as a result of a rising variety of pundits are actually contending that company social accountability has grow to be an essential side of buyer shopping for choices, and that subsequently firms ought to embody “social objective” messaging of their advertising packages.

At first look, this argument seems to be supported by a major physique of analysis. Quite a few surveys performed over the previous a number of years have discovered that many individuals – notably youthful folks – have grow to be extra socially acutely aware, and that they more and more count on enterprise organizations to take a extra energetic position in addressing social issues. Listed here are a number of instance of this analysis:

In Edelman’s Belief Barometer 2021 survey of customers in 27 international locations, 86% of the respondents mentioned they count on the manufacturers they purchase to take a number of of a number of actions. These actions included deal with social challenges, create optimistic change in society, address political points, and make our tradition extra accepting.
In Accenture Technique’s 2019 World Client Pulse survey of customers in 36 international locations, 74% of youthful customers (principally millennials and Era Z) mentioned they need firms to take a stand on points “near their hearts,” and greater than 50% mentioned they’ve shifted a portion of their spend away from their present service supplier when an organization disillusioned them because of its phrases or actions on a social subject.
In a 2017 survey of customers in 16 international locations by BBMG and GlobalScan, practically two-thirds (65%) of the respondents mentioned they wish to help firms with a powerful objective.

Social objective advertising is a controversial topic, and my intent right here is to not take both aspect of the controversy. However we all know the social desirability bias exists, and subsequently some surveys might overstate the significance or worth of social objective advertising. As well as, we additionally know there’s usually a discrepancy between what survey individuals say they imagine or will do and their precise behaviors. That phenomenon is named the “value-action hole,” however that is a subject for an additional weblog submit.

The true takeaway right here is that entrepreneurs needs to be cautious about counting on survey analysis that’s inclined to the social desirability bias.