A quantitative survey collects measurable data from a large number of respondents and presents the results statistically. It gives a general picture of your target group or society as a whole and can be crucial for developing your organisation or business. Margins of error and significance testing are tools that a good survey includes to assess the data and the conclusions that can be drawn in the analysis.<\/p>\n
At Novus, we always start from your problem, not the method. Whether it is a simple fact-finding exercise or a complex decision analysis, we recommend the method that best suits your assignment. We are not tied to one specific approach. This means we work with both quantitative and qualitative methods, and often a combination of the two. Within quantitative methods, we work with surveys via web, telephone, text message, post and digital mailbox, as well as street interviews, among others.<\/p>\n
The purpose of the Novus Sweden Panel is to give a representative picture of what people living in Sweden think. Today, the panel consists of around 60,000 randomly recruited panel members from all over the country: Sweden in miniature.<\/p>\n
Fieldwork is the foundation. It is crucial that the answers reflect reality, which is why we use only random sampling when recruiting to the panel. The initiative always comes from us. Nobody can sign up or apply to join. This ensures that the panel is nationally representative in terms of age, gender, region and opinions, and is a prerequisite for being able to report statistical margins of error.<\/p>\n
A panel is a perishable resource, which means we continuously recruit new members using all available methods. The Novus Sweden Panel can act as both a substitute for and a complement to your existing methods.<\/p>\n
Do you need a statistically reliable answer quickly and cost-effectively? Novus Sweden, our omnibus survey, is our most widely used product, where you can put your own questions to a representative sample of the Swedish public aged 18\u201384.<\/p>\n
Novus Sweden works on the same principle as public transport: the more people who share the costs, the lower the price. We send out a Novus Sweden every Thursday, and you have access to a chart report on the Friday of the following week, broken down by eight background variables: gender, age, education, occupation, marital status, household income, region and type of locality.<\/p>\n
We offer eleven variants, including Novus Sweden Metropolitan, Novus Sweden Stockholm, Novus Sweden Sk\u00e5ne, Novus Sweden 65+, Novus Sweden Young Adults and Novus Sweden Managers, so you can reach exactly the target group you need.<\/p>\n
A Novus survey analyses existing facts and knowledge to generate and contribute new knowledge. A survey that is not carried out correctly is misleading and therefore useless. We want you to understand what separates a reliable survey from one that is not.<\/p>\n
These are the most important building blocks we work by:<\/p>\n
Random sampling<\/strong> We always strive to give everyone in your target group a chance to be asked. We do this through several contact methods: telephone, text message, postcard and Kivra.<\/p>\n Short surveys<\/strong> To collect as many responses as possible, surveys should be short. Novus surveys take 5\u20136 minutes on average.<\/p>\n Neutral and easy-to-understand questions<\/strong> The questions we ask should be neutral, balanced and easy to understand. They should not lead the respondent in any direction; our purpose is to investigate, not to influence. We always recommend including response options such as \u201cDon\u2019t know\u201d or \u201cNo opinion\u201d, so that respondents never feel forced to answer.<\/p>\n Limited number of surveys per respondent<\/strong> Respondents should not be asked too often, to minimise the risk of survey fatigue. Members of the Novus Sweden Panel are asked around once or twice a month.<\/p>\n Avoiding professional respondents<\/strong> If the same type of question is asked repeatedly, respondents risk becoming unnaturally familiar with the topic, a phenomenon known as priming, which can skew the results. For recurring surveys, we therefore put respondents who have previously answered similar questions in quarantine.<\/p>\n Ongoing quality control<\/strong> Throughout data collection, we carry out plausibility checks of the sample profile, pilot interviews before fieldwork starts, spot checks, ongoing demographic checks, checks of response patterns and checks for implausibly short response times. Where necessary, we also carry out a non-response analysis.<\/p>\n We always strive to give everyone in your target group a chance to be asked. A self-recruited panel favours those who are most visible and vocal with their opinions, and that gives you a misleading result on which to base decisions. The silent majority is not just an expression, it is a fact.<\/p>\n We work with both quantitative and qualitative methods, and often a combination of the two. If you need to know not only what<\/em> your target group thinks but also why<\/em>, we offer focus groups and in-depth interviews, both in person and online, as well as insight communities and ethnographic studies.<\/p>\n What is the Novus Sweden Panel?<\/strong> The Novus Sweden Panel is a web panel of around 60,000 randomly recruited panel members from all over Sweden. The panel gives a representative picture of what the country\u2019s inhabitants think and is used for everything from brand research to opinion analysis.<\/p>\n Can you sign up for the Novus Sweden Panel?<\/strong> No. The Novus Sweden Panel does not use self-recruitment. The initiative for recruitment always comes from us, which is a prerequisite for the panel to be nationally representative and for statistical margins of error to be reported.<\/p>\n What makes a self-recruited sample unreliable?<\/strong> The basis of all statistical surveys is that the sample should be random, drawn from the group being studied. It is the research company that selects who is asked. It should not be possible to volunteer, known as self-recruitment or opt-in, where interested respondents contact the researcher and put themselves on a list to be asked. This means the survey loses control over who responds and who does not. The initiative must always come from the research company. There is one exception: a census survey, where everyone in the target group is asked, for example a questionnaire sent to all members of the Swedish Parliament.<\/p>\nIf you only ask those who raise their hand, you miss everyone else<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Quantitative and qualitative, often strongest together<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Frequently asked questions about quantitative surveys<\/strong><\/h3>\n