A few days back I conducted a small survey on donation funded education model using LinkedIn, Facebook and some WhatsApp groups using the SurveyMonkey tool. I would estimate the total number of unique individuals reached by these groups would be at least 7500. I obtained 64 responses which is less than 1% of the total possible. However, the sample size is in itself not as big a problem as is the lack of knowledge whether it is a random sample from the population. We often talk of this in basic statistics courses but many forget about this "Caution" in practice.
In traditional statistics the big assumptions regarding sample collection are: (i) the sample is a "probability sample" with each individual having a "known" probability (not necessarily equal) of being selected in the population, (ii) the sample size is fixed in advance, (iii) there is no non-response i.e. everyone who is selected for inclusion in the survey answers the survey and (iv) the respondents answer the survey question truthfully. In case of my survey, unfortunately, none of these assumptions hold true.
Why these four assumptions are important? The main purpose of having the above four assumptions is to ensure generalisability of the results. The results of a survey in which the above assumptions do not hold true cannot be generalised to the entire population. However it may give useful insights which can be verified by a well-controlled study later on.
What insights did I get from my survey? Remember these are merely indications and correctness of these would depend upon the extent to which the assumptions (i)-(iv) are violated (which we can never know).
1. About 66% of the respondents found Higher education in India "Expensive" or "Very Expensive" with 12% of the respondents finding it to be "Very Expensive"
2. About 42% of the respondents felt that availability of education loans does NOT justify the very high fees being charged by many institutions while another 50% respondents said that it does partially justify the high fees.
3. Given a choice to pay whatever amount they like after the education has been provided 20% of the respondents said that they would pay less than 5% of the indicated fee, another 40% respondents said that they would pay between 5% to 25% of the indicated fee and 12% respondents said that they would pay between 25% - 50% of the indicated fee. Among the 38% respondents who said they would pay at least half the indicated fee about 9% said that they would pay the indicated fee or more.
4. When asked about the amount they would pay if they are allowed to pay any amount but only before the education is provided, 99% of the respondents said they would pay the same or a lesser amount as they would do if they are allowed to pay after the education is provided. Of these an overwhelming 84% said that they would "lesser" or "much lesser" amount.
5. The last question asked was to see if the amount they would like to pay before the education is provided changes, if the selection is made dependent on the donation amount. In other words, those who donate more has higher chance of being selected for undergoing the programme. As expected about 47% of the respondents said that they would pay a larger amount in this situation than in the case when the donation amount has no linkage with the selection probability.
I intend to do some more indicative surveys in future and will keep you posted of the findings.
In traditional statistics the big assumptions regarding sample collection are: (i) the sample is a "probability sample" with each individual having a "known" probability (not necessarily equal) of being selected in the population, (ii) the sample size is fixed in advance, (iii) there is no non-response i.e. everyone who is selected for inclusion in the survey answers the survey and (iv) the respondents answer the survey question truthfully. In case of my survey, unfortunately, none of these assumptions hold true.
Why these four assumptions are important? The main purpose of having the above four assumptions is to ensure generalisability of the results. The results of a survey in which the above assumptions do not hold true cannot be generalised to the entire population. However it may give useful insights which can be verified by a well-controlled study later on.
What insights did I get from my survey? Remember these are merely indications and correctness of these would depend upon the extent to which the assumptions (i)-(iv) are violated (which we can never know).
1. About 66% of the respondents found Higher education in India "Expensive" or "Very Expensive" with 12% of the respondents finding it to be "Very Expensive"
2. About 42% of the respondents felt that availability of education loans does NOT justify the very high fees being charged by many institutions while another 50% respondents said that it does partially justify the high fees.
3. Given a choice to pay whatever amount they like after the education has been provided 20% of the respondents said that they would pay less than 5% of the indicated fee, another 40% respondents said that they would pay between 5% to 25% of the indicated fee and 12% respondents said that they would pay between 25% - 50% of the indicated fee. Among the 38% respondents who said they would pay at least half the indicated fee about 9% said that they would pay the indicated fee or more.
4. When asked about the amount they would pay if they are allowed to pay any amount but only before the education is provided, 99% of the respondents said they would pay the same or a lesser amount as they would do if they are allowed to pay after the education is provided. Of these an overwhelming 84% said that they would "lesser" or "much lesser" amount.
5. The last question asked was to see if the amount they would like to pay before the education is provided changes, if the selection is made dependent on the donation amount. In other words, those who donate more has higher chance of being selected for undergoing the programme. As expected about 47% of the respondents said that they would pay a larger amount in this situation than in the case when the donation amount has no linkage with the selection probability.
I intend to do some more indicative surveys in future and will keep you posted of the findings.
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