Collection of Data — Economics STD 11 Commerce — Question

Ans. The most common methods of collecting primary data are:

1. Personal Interview method.
2. Indirect Interview method.
3. Mailing Questionnaire method.
4. Telephone Interview method.

In Mailing Questionnaire method, the data in a survey is collected by mail and the questionnaire is sent to all individuals by mail, alongwith a request letter to complete and return it by the given date assigned.The merits of mailing questionnaire method are:

1. It is relatively a less expensive method, as the mailing costs are much less than the personal interview method.
2. It allows the researcher to have access to people in remote and far-off areas, which may be either difficult to reach by a person or by a telephone.

The demerits of mailing questionnaire method are:

1. On account of lack of personal touch in the mailing questionnaire method, there is a possibility of ‘misunderstanding of certain questions' asked. As a result, the questions may be misunderstood and thereby wrongly attempted.
2. Response rate to the mail questionnaire may also below, due to the lack of personal touch. Many questionnaires may not be returned and rest of them may be returned incomplete, with many questions not attempted and the questionnaire may even get lost in the mail itself.