Chapter Three Research Methodology
3.6 Data Collection
Data collection is the term given to the “process of preparing and collecting data” (Google Company, 2010: 1). The purpose of data collection is to obtain information to keep on record, to make decisions about important issues or to pass information on to others. Both primary and secondary data will be required to shed light on the research problem. A data collection instrument can be defined as “any device that is used to gain information from respondents” (Google Company, 2010: 1). The primary data collection instrument utilized in this study was a structured questionnaire. With regard to secondary data; academic journals, newspaper articles, marketing textbooks and social media websites were referred to.
3.6.1 Questionnaires
According to Sekaran and Bougie (2010: 197), “a questionnaire is a pre-formulated written set of questions to which respondents record their answers; usually within rather closely defined alternatives”. Questionnaires are an efficient data collection mechanism when the researcher knows exactly what is required and how to measure the variables of interest.
Furthermore questionnaires have the advantage of obtaining data more efficiently in terms of researcher time, energy and costs and are a reliable source of quantitative data. Brassington and Pettitt (2000) stated that it is essential that the questionnaire be tailor-made in order to meet the information requirements of the study and is thus the centre of the research process. The questionnaire for this study was specifically designed to address all of the study’s research objectives. All the questionnaires were administered by the researcher to ensure that the respondents are between the specified ages and from the specified location so as to increase the validity and reliability of this study.
Questionnaires were distributed to 150 students from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal (Westville Campus and Howard College Campus) over a period of three weeks. The questionnaire was administered at two Media Studies tutorial classes that were held at the Howard Campus College in September 2011 and in computer LANS, passage ways and coffee shops at both campuses. The majority of the questionnaires were administered at the two Media Studies tutorial classes as this was a quick and convenient approach, since all
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students were addressed at the same time and at the same location. All 150 questionnaires were completed correctly within the required time frame.
3.6.2 Questionnaire Design
The questionnaire consisted of 24 questions which were divided into five sections (Appendix A). The first two questions were screening questions which required the respondent to state whether or not he/she actively sought out product and company information from social media platforms. According to Hair et.al (2006: 460) screening is a set of preliminary questions that are used to determine the eligibility of a prospective respondent for inclusion in the survey. If a respondent answered ‘No’ to both screening questions, the interview was terminated and, the participant was thanked for their willingness to participate. This ensured that respondents are representative of the defined target population and, enhanced the quality of the data received.
Section A of the questionnaire consisted of two questions which sought to obtain biographic information and Section B consisted of three questions which pertained to a respondent’s social media usage patterns.
Section C comprised 37 questions on a 5 point Likert scale ranging from ‘strongly agree’ to
‘strongly disagree’. The first four questions attempted to gain insight on a respondent’s perception of traditional and social media, and the potential of social media as a promotional tool. The remaining 33 questions addressed issues concerning market segments found within the youth market and, the purchasing behaviour of respondents using social media platforms.
Section D consisted of 11 questions which attempted to gain insight into why respondent’s made purchases using information obtained through social media platforms, the purchasing behaviour of respondent’s on social media platforms and the reasons thereof.
Section E consisted of four questions which sought to gain an understanding of how social media browsing leads to purchasing by respondents and, the impact of social media browsing on the purchasing behaviour of the respondent’s.
According to Ghauri, Gronhaug and Kristianslund (1995: 62) the following guidelines should be adhered to, in order to develop a good questionnaire:
• Questions must be asked in a straightforward and concise language;
• Be conservative to the level of knowledge, education and so forth necessary for the respondent to answer the question;
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• Guarantee that everyone draws the same meaning from the questions;
• Each question ought to deal with only one aspect, variable or dimension;
• Questions should be not be suggestive in nature;
• Questions should be written in a polite manner in order to prevent provoking or offending the respondent;
• The words and language used in questions should be simple and have no double meanings attached;
• The layout of the questionnaire should be neat as this influences the respondent’s willingness to answer; and
• The questionnaire should be passed through a pre-test to check issues such as:
ensuring that the questions are correctly understood, the level of difficulty and how long respondents take to complete the questionnaire.
The above guidelines were taken into account when designing the questionnaire for this study. Moreover, the questionnaire was designed as follows to address the research objectives:
• Questions 7, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24 were designed in order to address objective 1 which was to determine the impact of social media browsing on purchasing behaviour in the youth market;
• Questions 26 and 27 were designed to achieve objective 2 which was to determine how social media browsing leads to purchasing by consumers in the youth market;
• Questions 10, 11, 12, and 13 were designed to achieve objective 3 which was to determine why consumers in the target market make purchases using information obtained on social media platforms.
• Section C of the questionnaire comprised of 37 Likert Scale questions which were intended to achieve objectives 2, 3, 5, and 6 of the study which were: how social media browsing led to purchasing behaviour by consumers in the youth market, why does this target market purchase using information obtained on social media platforms, whether there is potential
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value for social media as a promotional tool for targeting the youth market and, what market segments can be found within the youth market.
• Questions 3, 4 and 5 were designed in order to address research objective 4 which is to establish the usage patterns of social media platforms in the youth market.
3.6.3 Rating Scales
The data collection method used in this study includes the following rating scales:
a. Dichotomous scales: This scale offers “two mutually exclusive and exhaustive alternatives” (Cooper & Schindler, 2006: 75). Dichotomous scales are often used to elicit ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers (Sekaran, 2003).
Example: Do you actively seek out brand pages on social media? Yes1 No2
b. Likert scales: These scales ask respondents to describe how strongly they agree or disagree with specific statements (Sekaran, 2003).
Please rate how strongly you agree or disagree with each statement by circling the appropriate number.
1= Strongly Agree, 2= Agree, 3=Neutral, 4=Disagree, 5= Strongly Disagree, please circle the most appropriate answer
Strongly Agree
Agree Disagree Neutral Strongly disagree Social media is just a passing
trend
1 2 3 4 5