First, based on the literature review of online communities, questions to ascertain differing aspects of a user’s participation in online communities and the motivations to join or participate in the communities as well as the effects of participation in the community were developed by the researcher.
3.4.1.1 Survey Design
To provide the empirical basis for these measures, an online survey to refine and solidify community measures including qualitative open-ended questions was developed and administered by the researcher. Initial survey items were taken from the literature review provided by the researcher in the previous chapter. Based on guidelines put forward by Andrews, Nonneke and Preece (2003), a web based survey was determined to be most suitable in this research as it provided access to a wide range of respondents, all of whom have access to the Internet as they are using it to participate in or visit an online
community. As the target group is online community users, use of web based survey was deemed appropriate. The web-based software chosen by the researcher also enabled the necessary design principles according to Andrews, et al. (2003) to be implemented. While, at the time of this research, the university didn’t have an online survey facility for student’s
use, a subscription to a commercially available software survey facility was acquired by the researcher. These facilities were procured from the hosting company SurveyMonkey.com.
Online survey sites can be used to develop and disseminate surveys. O’Connor et al, (2008) support that the online approach to interviewing remains a new and innovative research method. Vehovar and Lozar (2008) write that although the use of the Internet has
proliferated in recent years, the use of it for conducting online questionnaire surveys in the social sciences still remains relatively limited. Vehovar and Lozar (2008) also support that the Internet offers great methodological potential and versatility and this has added much to the potential of survey research in general. Dillman et al. (1998) maintain that online questionnaires can offer the following distinct advantages over paper based surveys.
Enabling the researcher to contact a geographically dispersed population and so can be useful in internationalising research.
Being used to contact groups often difficult to reach.
Providing savings in costs to the researcher (for example, the costs associated with travel, venue, data entry).
Supplying data quickly, providing fast alternatives to postal, face-to-face and telephone surveys.
Enhancing the effectiveness of research and increase response rates where used as part of a mixed-mode methodology.
Especially for specific populations that regularly use the Internet, the Web has been found to be a useful means of conducting research (Couper et al., 2001; Sills and Song, 2002).
Dillman (1998) supports that in some instances a mixed-mode strategy has been suggested as a means for exploiting the advantages of Web surveys and minimizing non-response.
However, because the sample group sought in this study was online community users, paper based surveys were not an efficient means of reaching this group and therefore not used by the researcher.
Greenlaw and Brown-Welty (2009) support that when conducting a survey, response rate is not the only consideration and that researchers must function within the constraints of budgets and must consider which survey mode will meet the needs of the study while not depleting too many resources. The costs associated with each survey mode become an important variable, and whether those costs consist of an overall total or are a part of an evaluation plan, the survey administration cost need to be taken into account. The introduction of multiple commercial survey web sites has facilitated the design,
dissemination, data storage, and data analysis of web-based surveys and this practice has become an increasingly more user-friendly method of survey administration.
The SurveyMonkey.com software provides different templates for layouts, question categories, and skip logic which made it an appropriate survey mechanism. Especially pertinent at this stage of the research was the ability for the researcher to incorporate open ended questions to ascertain from community users if any specific aspects or themes relating to their community participation had been left out by the researcher. The survey tool offered an expedient and moderately cost effective method of creating a survey instrument to analyse online community users for this research. After creating the survey, the researcher can choose a specific URL which is generated by the hosting site and which can be placed in an email or integrated into a site post. This URL then directs the user directly to the survey which opens in a separate browser window. The survey design facilitates that, upon completion, the survey window be closed so the user returns to the Internet page from which the survey was called, decreasing the level of obtrusiveness of the survey for the user.
From the SurveyMonkey site, survey results can be subsequently downloaded for analysis in packages such as SPSS or imported into Excel and cleaned for further evaluation in such structural equation modelling packages as the one used in this research, SmartPLS. The results of this preliminary survey were analysed by the researcher for reliability and for the
purpose of question reduction in SPSS using Cronbach’s alpha and principal component analysis, based on the guidelines by Cortina, 1993; Cronbach, 1951; Grayson, 2004; Field, 2005; Guadagnoli and Velicer, 1988. Additionally, comments left by the survey
respondents were evaluated by the researcher to determine if any important themes had been left out.
3.4.1.2 Sample selection
Distribution of the survey link for this preliminary community survey was completed utilizing a snowball sampling process. Trochim (2006) writes that while the researcher should define the target population as clearly as possible, there are no exact rules and the researcher should rely on logic and judgement. The population is thus defined in
accordance with the objectives of the study.
Bancroft and O´Sullivan (2000) differentiate between a census which is a survey which examines every member of the population and a sample which is a relatively small set of the population. While a census will give the researcher a completely accurate view of the population, a sample is a more practical approach offering the advantages of being less time consuming, less costly, and the information obtained above a certain sample size will not increase the accuracy of information and as such is ineffective. Within sampling
techniques, a differentiation is made between probability and non probability sampling.
Probability sampling is where every member of the population has a known chance of inclusion in the sample, and methods include random sampling, systematic sampling, and stratified sampling. Non probability sampling is when the researcher decides in advance on the factors which will determine whether or not a member of the population will be
included in the sample (Bancroft and O´Sullivan, 2000:108). Sue and Ritter (2007) support that the use of non-probability sampling is reserved for exploratory research, but also hold that non probability strategies are practical for online surveys. Sue and Ritter (2007) follow that appropriate types of non probability sampling in an online survey context are
convenience sampling, volunteer opt-in panels, and snowball sampling. In snowball sampling, the sample begins by identifying the participant who meets the inclusion criteria (in this case, an active member of an online community). Sue and Ritter (2007) follow that snowball sampling is commonly used when dealing with hard to reach populations, such as citizens who might be reluctant to take part in surveys. The researcher initially found that attempts to contact online community administrators and ask if the exploratory survey could be posted led to little acceptance. The researcher then sent the survey link to associates who were members themselves of online communities and asked for the associate to either post the link in the community in which they were a member, and to forward the link on to additional potential survey respondents via email.
The usage of non random sampling procedures can be supported in the following cases:
when the population is infinite or near it and the cases can not be specified to create a list for making a random selection, and when the researcher cannot reach some members in the population. In this case a random selection would not be meaningful, because it would be possible to execute just a part of it, and this would bias the selection. Thus, the method of snowball sampling is supported in the literature and this sampling method was found to be, as Sue and Ritter (2007) maintain, a good way to select members of a specifically defined, highly targeted population. The results of this stage: determination of question reliability and use of principle component analysis for reduction of the number of questions for the community constructs are discussed in more detail in chapter 4 on the exploratory research phase findings.