Now it s time to actually administer the survey. The traditional methods of doing so are through the mail, by telephone, or in person. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. Mail is probably the most economical of the three, but it is harder to get a good amount of participation, with high percentages of people opting out of the entire process. It is also a relatively slow process.
Telephone is faster, but more expensive, both in phone charges and in salaries.
If you want to fulfill a large number of surveys in a short time, you have to dedicate multiple people, office space, and telephones. It is also the best form for probing in open-ended questioning and, including travel expenses, the most expensive. These combine a number of desirable characteristics. They are much less expensive than even surface mail surveys, since so many companies already have e-mail and web resources. Since the Internet provides almost instant communications, they are also much faster than any traditional method, with immediate delivery to any number of people simultaneously.