Large –scale Surveys

The logic of a traditional survey is strictly positivistic.

The evidence is frequently treated as though it were the result of measurements of a machine used in an entirely physical or life science environment.

Standard statistical techniques used for ordinal numbers are increasingly applied with no recognition of the problems of the subjectivity of the opinions.

Although surveys are still extensively used in business and management research there is an increasing feeling that they are not suitable for the collection of evidence about management issues. (Dan Remenyi et al.)



A recent example of a dissertation based on a large-scale survey was an exploration into the acceptance of an organisation’s computer strategy by its staff, by examining the level of user satisfaction with a management information systems based on end-user computing.

Some 1,500 computer users within the organisation were asked to complete a questionnaire, and approximately 300 completed forms were returned. These were analysed using a number of statistical approaches. As a result of the evidence collected it was possible to suggest ways in which the organisation could improve the implementation of its strategy.(Dan Remenyi et al.)