The Practice of Social Research
Chapter Outline
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Topics Appropriate for Survey Research
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Guidelines for Asking Questions
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Questionnaire Construction
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Self-Administered Questionnaires
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Interview Surveys
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Telephone Surveys
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Online Surveys
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Comparison of the Different Survey Methods
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Strengths and Weaknesses of Survey Research
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Secondary Analysis
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Ethics and Survey Research
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Quick Quiz
Topics Appropriate for Survey Research
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Descriptive, exploratory, and explanatory
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Units of analysis = respondents
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Respondents – a person who provides data for analysis by
responding to a survey questionnaire.
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Large samples, original data, measuring attitudes and
orientations
Guidelines for Asking Questions
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Questionnaire – a document containing questions and other types
of items designed to solicit information appropriate for analysis.
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Open-Ended Questions – questions for which the respondent is
asked to provide his/her own answers.
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Closed-Ended Questions – survey questions in which the respondent
is asked to select an answer from a list provided by the researcher.
Guidelines for Asking Questions
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Select appropriate question forms.
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Make items clear.
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Avoid double-barreled questions.
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Respondents must be competent to answer.
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Respondents must be willing to answer.
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Questions should be relevant.
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Avoid negative items.
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Avoid biased items and terms.
Questionnaire Construction
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General Questionnaire Format
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Uncluttered
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One question per line
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Consistent format
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Contingency Question – a survey question intended for only some
respondents, determined by their responses to some other question.
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Ordering Items in a Questionnaire
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Appearance
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Open-Ended or Closed-Ended First?
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Questionnaire Instructions
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Introductory comments and clear instructions
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Pre-testing the Questionnaire
Self-Administered Questionnaires
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Questionnaires in which respondents are asked to complete the
questionnaire by themselves.
Self-Administered Questionnaires
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Mail Distribution and Return
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Why do people not return questionnaires?
Self-Administered Questionnaires
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Response Rate – the number of people participating in a survey
divided by the number selected in the sample.
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Ideal = higher than 70%
Interview Surveys
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Interview – a data-collection encounter in which one person
(interviewer) asks questions of another (respondent).
Interview Surveys
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Guidelines for Survey Interviewing
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Dress appropriately
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Be familiar with questionnaire
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Follow question working exactly
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Record responses exactly
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Probe when necessary
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Probe –
a technique employed in interviewing to solicit a more complete answer to a
question.
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Coordinate and Control
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Training
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General
guidelines
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How to
handle difficult situations
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Practice interviews
Telephone Surveys
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Advantages
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95.5% of households have a telephone
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Time and money
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Disadvantages
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Unlisted phone numbers
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Cell phones
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Random-Digit Dialing (RDD) – a sampling technique in which random
numbers are selected from within the range of numbers assigned to active
telephones.
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Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) – a
data-collection technique in which a telephone-survey questionnaire is stored in
a computer, permitting the interviewer to read the questions from the monitor
and enter the answers on the computer keyboard
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Response Rates in Interview Surveys
Online Surveys
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DO use consistent wording.
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DO use simple language.
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DON’T force excessive scrolling.
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DO offer to share select result with respondents.
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DO plan time and day of initial mailing.
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DO be aware of technical limitations.
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DO test incentives, rewards, and prizes.
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DO limit studies to less than 15 minutes.
Comparison of the Different Survey Methods
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Self-Administered Questionnaires
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Cheaper and faster than face-to-face interviews
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National is the same cost as local mailings
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Requires small staff
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More willingness to answer controversial items
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Interview Surveys
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Fewer incomplete questionnaires
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More effective for complicated questionnaires
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Face-to-face is more intimate
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Telephone Surveys
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Cheaper and more time efficient
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Online Surveys
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Available software and websites
Strengths and Weaknesses of Survey Research
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Strengths
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Useful in describing large populations
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Surveys are flexible
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Standardized questions
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Weaknesses
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Round pegs in square holes
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Seldom deal with context of social life
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Inflexible
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Artificial
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Weak on validity
Secondary Analysis
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Secondary Analysis – a form of research in which the data
collected and processed by one researcher are reanalyzed by another.
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General Social Survey