Research Methodology Report: Singapore Undergraduate Survey Analysis

This report details a research methodology employed to survey undergraduate students in Singapore. The study utilized an online survey approach, distributing structured questionnaires via social media platforms to collect primary quantitative data. The report justifies the selection of the online survey method, highlighting its speed, cost-effectiveness, and accessibility for the target demographic. It describes the instrument development process, including the design of user-friendly questionnaires with open-ended boxes, radio buttons, and Likert scales. The sampling strategy involved probability sampling of undergraduate students from SIM, SMU, NTU, and NUS, with a planned sample size of 100 respondents. The fieldwork process, data collection timeline, and the use of SPSS software for data analysis, including univariate and bivariate analysis, are also outlined. The report includes a detailed discussion of the research process from the design of the questionnaire to the analysis of the data.

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4. Research Methodology
4.1 Research Method
Our team has conducted an online survey by distributing online structured questionnaires to
the target population to collect primary quantitative data. Several social media platforms were
used to gather data. Online survey approach is far much significant than the use of interview
or focus groups because it is faster and economical (Yeager et al., 2011). As a result, we had
adequate time to gather data for the research. Moreover, an online survey is preferred by most
of the youths in tertiary institutions because of their love for internet (Mtega et al., 2013),
who also happen to be our target respondents. Therefore, the preferred method of data
collection also ensured that there was an equal representation of the target population who are
majorly the young.
The online survey also has an extensive reach through different networks, and it goes past the
close peers who might be biased in their responses, thus minimizing the likelihood of the rise
of subjective measurement error. Furthermore, the survey software that was used
significantly reduced the possibilities of non-response survey errors, thus, increasing the
accuracy of the study outcomes. Therefore, the benefits of the survey method we chose far
outweigh that of interview method and is also much applicable to our research.
4.2 Instrument Development
The designing of the online questionnaire was done with the consciousness that it should be
user-friendly, reasonable and comprises of a simple interface that motivates the participant to
fill in the survey (Zikmund et al., 2014). Open-ended boxes, radio buttons, and checkboxes
were used in the development of the research instrument. The objective of the open-ended
boxes is to enable the respondents to provide their answers where the question doesn’t offer

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options. Additionally, quick responses from the participants were encouraged by the use of
pop-up boxes.
Filter questions were also tactically positioned in front of our questionnaire to ascertain if the
participant students were indeed enrolled under the bachelor's program, thus helping us to
exclude those that are outside our sampling frame. The attitudes of the students were also
measured using five points Likert scale, thus enabling us to measure their perception about
the significance of the matter under consideration. The online questionnaire is both structured
and non-interactive to reach a wide range of audience (Phellas, Bloch, and Seale, 2011).
Lastly, our team has carried out a pre-test survey on a small sample of the target population to
determine the perception of the respondents regarding the structure of the study, any
complexity in the questions, and any visual issues that may arise during the actual research.
The pre-test enabled us to adjust questions that were ambiguous previously. The final online
questionnaire has been attached in the Appendix.
4.3 Sampling
4.3.1 Target Population
The target population for the survey is all undergraduate students in Singapore. This class of
respondents was chosen because they are in the institutions of higher learning and can easily
understand technological advancements in smart watches.
4.3.2 Sampling Frame
The sampling frame included all the undergraduate students studying in SIM, SMU, NTU,
and NUS. The selection of the four institutions was based on the fact that they have the
highest population of undergraduate students in Singapore.

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4.3.3 Sampling Technique
The study adopted probability sampling method whereby the respondents in the target
population had a non-zero and known probability of selection. This sampling method was
preferred because it ensures equal chances of selection in all the study participants (Zikmund
et al., 2014).
4.3.4 Plan Process
The survey was posted on Google Forms, and invitations were made through various social
platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Internet survey method was chosen because it
enables access to a wide range of audience, economical, and maintains high confidentiality
(Dillman, Smyth, and Christian, 2014).
4.3.5 Sample Size
The sample size was set at 100 respondents regardless of the rate of response, and only the
initial 100 respondents will be analyzed.
4.4 Fieldwork
We posted 20 close-ended questions on Google Forms. The nature of the questions fostered
easy responses, interpretation, and tabulation (Philip et al., 2011). The undergraduate students
in Singapore were invited to participate in the survey which took 14 days (from 12th to 26th
January 2018). Eight surveys were collected each day. Thus the fourteen days were enough to
gather all the first 100 surveys.
4.5 Data Analysis Method
The received data was filtered, coded and analyzed using SPSS software (version 20).
Statistical univariate and bivariate analysis were used. SPSS is suitable and beneficial in the

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organization of the gathered data, generating significant statistics (Meyers, Gamst, and
Guarino, 2013). But the use of the software we obtained our outcomes through cross-
tabulation as expounded in detail in chapter five of this report.

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References
Artino Jr, A.R., La Rochelle, J.S., Dezee, K.J. and Gehlbach, H., 2014. Developing
questionnaires for educational research: AMEE Guide No. 87. Medical teacher, 36(6),
pp.463-474.
Dillman, D.A., Smyth, J.D. and Christian, L.M., 2014. Internet, phone, mail, and mixed-mode
surveys: the tailored design method. John Wiley & Sons.
Meyers, L.S., Gamst, G.C. and Guarino, A.J., 2013. Performing data analysis using IBM
SPSS. John Wiley & Sons.
Mtega, W.P., Bernard, R., Msungu, A.C. and Sanare, R., 2012. Using mobile phones for
teaching and learning purposes in higher learning institutions: The case of Sokoine University
of Agriculture in Tanzania.
Phellas, C.N., Bloch, A. and Seale, C., 2011. Structured methods: interviews, questionnaires
and observation. Researching society and culture, 3.
Philip, K, Gary, A, Swee Hoon, A, Siew Meng, L, Chin Tiong , T & Oliver Yau, H-M 2011,
Principles of Marketing, An Asian Perspective, Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd,
Singapore
Yeager, D.S., Krosnick, J.A., Chang, L., Javitz, H.S., Levendusky, M.S., Simpser, A. and
Wang, R., 2011. Comparing the accuracy of RDD telephone surveys and internet surveys
conducted with probability and non-probability samples. Public opinion quarterly, 75(4),
pp.709-747.
Zikmund, WG, Ward, S, Lowe, B, Winzar, H & Babin, BJ 2013, Marketing Research: 3rd
Asia Pacific Edition. Cengage Learning, 3rd edn, Cengage, Melbourne.