Balcostics logo
BalcosticsClient focus, results driven
 Get a quote
HomeData collectionmyVoice surveysCase studiesBlog
Research notes

A short guide to running a survey

A survey puts a structured set of questions to a sample so you can say something about a larger group, and the mode has to follow the budget, the people, the sample and the clock.

Balcostics ResearchOriginally published 26 Apr 2012Updated 1 Oct 2026
A Balcostics Research interviewer beside the Linstead Health Centre sign in St. Catherine

Updated October 2026. October 2026: budget line set to the 2026 quotation model; face-to-face includes tablet as well as paper.

What a survey is

A survey is the structured gathering of information from a sample of people, so you can draw conclusions about a larger group.

Before you start

Set a clear purpose. Write the questions the survey has to answer. Then choose how you will collect the data.

Ways to collect it

The modes we listed in 2012 are still the ones in ordinary use.

  1. Online, on a web page.
  2. Online, by email.
  3. Face to face, on paper or on a tablet.
  4. By telephone. Our note on the telephone interview covers the call itself.

The mode depends on four things.

Budget. An all-island panel interview is about J$470-700 per respondent. Face-to-face is about J$1,800-2,500 per respondent. These are indicative 2026 quotation-model figures. The face-to-face range is our estimate. The panel is not a probability sample. The panel site is myVoice.

Target population. How large that group is, and whether you have a list for it, changes the selection. The questions to ask of each item apply in every mode.

Sample size. A short phone follow-up and a large face-to-face sample are not run the same way.

Timeline. If the answers are needed quickly, a mode that takes weeks of travel will not fit.

When the interviews are in, the file still has to be checked, analysed and presented. That is work we do: data management.

Updated October 2026

  • Face-to-face in the 2012 list was interviews, with no mention of a tablet. Tablet collection now sits beside paper. Telephone is the same mode.
  • The budget sentence uses the 2026 quotation model: about J$470-700 per respondent on the all-island panel, and about J$1,800-2,500 face-to-face, the second range our estimate. The panel is not a probability sample. Link: myVoice.
  • Grammar in the April 2012 post was repaired, including the broken word "P opular" and "vary base on". No sample size from a named job was added.
  • The diagram survey-methodology.png is named in the 2 April 2023 Wayback snapshot. No archived image file was found for it, so the image field is empty.