Hi, I've been asked to prepare a proposal for a doctoral colloquim at a conference and was asked for 3 sides all inclusive!

now my previous conference wanted 25 sides max!

i've never done 3 sides.....should i omit references then? by default the details must be cut much shorter....how can I make a point and aqueeze a whole 2.5 years in 3 sides?

help!! thanks!

the database i use seems to have different "company names" to the actual company......the websites seem to not always match....

i dont know why, but it seems im getting envelopes returned to sender. although the address is 100% correct (checked with royal mail) maybe the wrong name is making in come back....

although if you send a letter with a real address but a wrong name should it be delivered?

im very angry with this database, good thing its just a short pilot.......

ring again today? i just called yesterday..

i suppose ringing in 5-7 days would be better......(?)

Hi!

just a question to revive this thread...i sent 30 pilot questionnaires to companies but not to specific people as my database didnt give exact names or emails (or 100% updated) ,so i sent them to the firm by doublchecking the post codes etc.

I also called several of the secretaries who seem ok and friendly to the point where i dont see why i should call.........they're all ok with it!

should i bother calling them again ? i dont want to push by asking manager's names etc. but i did mention they should pass it on to them...and they said they should get it by default.

its very tyring calling them all.......is there anything more I can do? I also emailed the companies as a reminder but i dont have (all) of manager's emails, so some are general addresses

Hi!

just a question to revive this thread...i sent 30 pilot questionnaires to companies but not to specific people as my database didnt give exact names or emails (or 100% updated) ,so i sent them to the firm by doublchecking the post codes etc.

I also called several of the secretaries who seem ok and friendly to the point where i dont see why i should call.........they're all ok with it!

should i bother calling them again ? i dont want to push by asking manager's names etc. but i did mention they should pass it on to them...and they said they should get it by default.

its very tyring calling them all.......is there anything more I can do? I also emailed the companies as a reminder but i dont have (all) of manager's emails, so some are general addresses

good point, i was told to avoid N/A or "other" if possible.........i use liker scales too that's wy :P

wwo....2 sides of A4? that would mean squeezing the questions quite abit.....not sure if it's ok for the attractiveness of it all.
I read 4-6 pages is the average and am trying to make it 4-5 pages or 3 sides to keep it short.

well i already passed the ethics check with my uni....so i'm ok there.

I thought about online initially but was told postal gets higher results , since people can fill it in at any time and anywhere (eg. airplane, train, tube, )....also sending many emails can look like spam whilst envelopes look more formal.
of course it costs more and i need to add return envelopes.........also, my sample is all the same, so more than one person can answer my questionnaire it doesnt matter provided they have specific info, assuming they do answer!
I am planing to launch an online one in parallel though.


how big should i keep it?

yes it's ready for piloting and i send it to colleagues to get ideas too.....i'm just concerned at the size.

although it's according to the literature i'm not sure if 6 pages looks ok.....it has only 15 questions but is 6 pages (one side only) including coversheet.

what kind of size do you consider ok?

Since the beginning I have had weak supervision, I've changed supervisor and although he's hard to track down i'm happy with our meetings, yet, next year is my 4th year and I would like to finish. What perplexes me is that at the rate feedback and corrections are given, I find it had to believe anyone in my group can finish 8-10 chapters in 12 months....considering drafts and having to wait for supervisors to read it, get in touch, arrange meetings....months fly by.

I wonder if people have a similar experience and how did you tackle the race against time against slow supervision? needless to say I dont want to work without getting regular meetings and approval every 2 weeks at least....

what do you consider to be a good number of questionnaires to send for a pilot study? 10-20 or more?

thanks!

thanks! oh boy that would take ages.......matching each code witha firm!

thanks! did you put a code on each envelope in case you want to send it back to the firm due to errors etc?

hi1 yes i am going to try all those methods......I also have a sponsor outside the uni to add to my questionnaire as a reference too..


I am aiming for 100 firms and above out 500-600 so 40% is a great response rate. I need them to run a regression after....

how exactly do you send the envelopes and get firms to send them back? you send two of them ? two envelopes enclosed in one?

hi, i'm about to launch a postal survey with 500 questionnaires ......i have thought of putting two envelopes an two stamps as a return envelope, so firms can return it free, but A. I'm concerned with cost B. i'm not sure the uni would cover it...

has anyone got any idea how to reduce costs in this process?

thanks! :-(