ABSTRACT
Once the steps are all accomplished in the preparation of a questionnaire, it is ready for the field. The field operation phase of the research process is the time that the data-collection instrument is taken to the source of the information. The planning of the field work is closely related to the preparation of the questionnaire, which was discussed in Chapter 6, and the sample selection, which will be discussed in Chapter 8. All three of these aspects of data gathering must be well conceived, planned, and executed in order to achieve the objectives of a study. Error can occur in all of these phases, and the field collection portion is no exception. The results of any excellently conceived questionnaire drawn from a scientifically selected representative sample can be nullified by errors in the fielding of the questionnaire. Consequently, the data-collection phase of the marketing research process is extremely important. A poorly executed data-collection effort can nullify the impact of a well-designed sampling scheme and data-collection instrument.
