CHAPTER 5

Modes of Survey Delivery

All research starts with questions. A survey is one way to get the information we need to answer these questions. In order to carry out a survey, we have to deliver the survey to our potential respondents. In this chapter, we’re going to discuss four basic modes of survey delivery. We’ll discuss approaches that combine features of two or more of these modes later in this chapter when we discuss mixed-mode surveys.

Face-to-face delivery—We mentioned in Chapter 1 that Don Dillman and his associates have an excellent history of surveys.1 According to Dillman, face-to-face or in-person interviewing dominated during the first two-thirds of the 20th century.

Mailed delivery—Dillman goes on to say that by the “early ...

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