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The Statistical Analysis Process - Three critical "Touch Points"...
- Sampling methodology: Early in each project comes the discussion about sampling. What population do you want to be able to generalize the results to? What population do you have access to? How will you be able to access them? And finally, who will ultimately be selected for your survey? A seemingly simple task—deciding who will be invited to participate in your survey—can quickly become complicated. Yet there's no reason to panic! The help from one of our statisticians will provide a clear path to ensure that what you learn from your respondents is representative of the survey population.
- Questionnaire review: With clearly defined goals set and sampling methodology determined, we'll take the next step - creating your questionnaire. After a draft or two, the statistician is called on a second time for two reasons. First, as a validity check for proper question construction and associated response categories. Second, to develop the statistical analysis design for your project.
- Statistical Analysis: Because of the statistician's earlier involvement in your study, the analysis of the data is generally straight-forward. Following the plan set in advance, the statistician is able to move quickly to the areas of interest.
But doesn’t the statistical work dramatically increase the cost?
No, not really. From our point of view, not using a statistician in a comprehensive survey project is corner-cutting that results in a lower quality, less reliable product—and we’d hate to have you making decisions on information that’s less than the best.
As an added benefit, our statisticians are active academically-based professionals; They're up-to-date researchers who keep their skills sharp by continually working real-world projects like yours. Their cost—a fraction of your project’s overall cost—is low due to their proficiency. The bottom line? You can’t afford to do a comprehensive survey research project without them.