Market Research Sample Size?

Question

I am running a survey for my client and I need to know how to calculate the sample size that I need to survey in order to get generalizable data. The survey is to find out whether or not an organization should build a social networking tool for its employees to use internally (think employee profiles, message boards, etc). The total population is about 160,000 employees of Company X, which means that the audience is very captive and this tool is relevant to everyone. The tool will be very expensive to build, so I want very accurate data that will represent the whole company's opinion of whether or not employees will use this tool. Out of the 160,000 employees, how many should I survey? If you can tell me how you arrive at your answer, that would be most helpful.

? · Accepted Answer

You'll want bout 500 responses. So assuming you'll get a 30% response rate, you'll need to as about 16,000 people to complete your survey. I've provided the link to a simple sample size calculator that will calculate how big of a sample you need for you.

Alternatively, if you need other tips for creating meaningful surveys or how to do the analysis check out the Cvent Web Surveys blog.