Another problem is that people who attend church two or three times per month will tend to claim they attended last week, even if they didn t simply because they usually attend church every week. On the other hand, asking them how many times they ve attended in the last six months will get broad estimates and guesses that probably won t reflect reality, because the time frame is just too long. Surveys of television viewing consistently show people think the TV is on far less than it actually is. This problem will be exacerbated if respondents are asked to provide such estimates over longer periods of time, such as the number of hours they watch per month. Another time-related problem in research often results from poor planning by the organization.
Research has to be timely in order to gather accurate perceptions.
It s not realistic to send someone a newsletter, then contact them three months later to ask their opinions about it. If you re planning to gather information about an event you sponsored, ask people for their opinions as soon after the event as possible. The more time elapses, the more respondents will either forget important details, or allow the passing of time to color their perceptions of the event. For example, donors might leave your July event feeling very positive about your organization. If in August you suffer through some bad publicity, people will subconsciously allow that publicity to impact their feelings about the event they attended.