An introduction on the Facebook-based questionnaire survey method for academic research in business studies

An introduction on the Facebook-based questionnaire survey method for academic research in business studies

Joseph Kim-Keung Ho

Independent Trainer

Hong Kong, China

Dated: February 6, 2016

Abstract:

The subject of online survey has been discussed in both the academic community and the business community, especially by survey tool vendors. This paper examines a specific type of online survey, i.e., Facebook-based questionnaire survey for academic research, based on the writer’s recent experience in this form of research exercise. The findings from these exercises largely agree with the evaluation viewpoints from the academic community in general. Nevertheless, this paper also points out that the contemporary technological platform and tools for conducting online survey via social network sites, such as Facebook are more user-friendly, more widely available and more powerful than ten years ago. The paper also serves to inform university students, mainly on business studies, who are interested in doing online survey research on how to do so, especially in an agile research mode. In this sense, this paper has pedagogical value, other than academic value.

Key words: academic research, agile research mode, Facebook, online questionnaire survey

An earlier version of the paper appears in the journal of European Academic Research as: Ho, J.K.K. 2014. “A Research Note on Facebook-based questionnaire survey for academic research in business studies” European Academic Research 2(7) October: 9243-9257.

Introduction

Conducting academic research, especially by students in universities, has always been a challenge – it can be time-consuming, intellectually testing and communication-intensive, among others. In this paper, the writer examines Facebook-based questionnaire survey as an agile approach for academic research.  Agility implies leanness, flexibility and responsiveness in this case. Here, the aims are:

Aim 1: to review Facebook-based questionnaire survey as an agile academic research method, mainly for university students in business studies[1].

Aim 2: to offer an account of how to conduct Facebook-based questionnaire survey based on the writer’s recent experience with this kind of research approach.

The discussion, the writer believes, offers both academic and pedagogical values, especially to university students in business studies who are involved in doing dissertation projects with tight time-constraint.

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[1] The emphasis on business studies arises from the writer’s main teaching experience on subjects in business studies. Most likely, the content here should be useful to students in social sciences.

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