Surveys

Panel studies advantages

Because people die, move or decide not to participate, panels an have a high attrition rate.

Open-ended questions disadvantages

Generally avoided because they are time consuming to code and analyze relative to multiple choice and scaled questions

Trend studies

Measure the same item over time. But draw different samples from the population each time. Questions remain the same different individuals are used

Multiple choice questions

Several possible answers

Dichotomous questions advantage

Simplifies data coding and analysis

Longitudinal studies

Tracks peoples change in knowledge, attitude, or behavior over time.

Survey wording

"If it can be misinterpreted, it will be."

Mail survey advantages

- Gives respondents time to consider questions and the ability to answer questions in any order - Good for delivering questions on complex issues that require thought - Suited to asking personal lifestyle questions, especially if respondents are guaranteed confidentiality and the questions are seen to come from a reputable source - May remain in front of respondents as a reminder - May be seen as more legitimate than phone or e-mail surveys

phone survey advantages

- can survey large samples in a short time - most households have phones - potential to assist interviewees if necessary

Problems with survey stems

- does not give you the "why" behind behind numbers -most survey design does not allow us to assess causal relationships -Increasing unwillingness of consumers to participate in them - have to decide whether or not the responses you received are valid

websites, email, and social media disadvantages

- results may not represent the opinions of internet users in general, or of the public as a whole - cannot control the survey presentation because different browsers may display the survey differently - may need mail, email, or phone to drive respondents to your survey website -may not know who completed the survey -e-mail invitations can be overlooked or deleted as spam requires more effort than responding to a phone call -respondents; competing activities/multitasking -problematic sampling frames

phone survey disadvantages

- typically limited to a few short questions - consumer resistance - barriers of voice mail, caller ID, and do not call lists - cell-only users differ demographically from traditional landline users respondents' competing activities/multitasking

Advantages of surveys

-Data from large numbers of people Study covert behaviors -respondents can answer large numbers of questions rapidly Can make generalizations with a known level of confidence from your sample to a much larger population

websites, email, and social media advantages

-administered quickly, flexibly, and inexpensively. - asynchronous, can be done in respondents' own time -can present audio, video, or graphics - can target special interest groups -results can be analyzed in real-time as data come in -may elicit sensitive information -can be emailed to respondents or posted to a website

Most surveys seek to find out four things about respondents:

1. Demographic data such as age, gender, religion, income, and marital status 2. Knowledge of an issue 3. Attitudes toward the issue 4. Behaviors towards the issue

online survey cons

1. online survey design 2. involvement 3. control 4. privacy 5. technology

online surveys

A method of administration that relies on the Web for completing the survey.

Cross sectional surveys

Are one time snapshots of population Use the same survey & different sample

Capturing and processing survey data

Enter survey data into proprietary data-processing software such as IBM SPSS Statistics, open-source software such as R, or spreadsheet on excel.

Panel studies

Groups of individuals is sampled and recruited, and the same individuals are retained to answer questions over time

Cohort

Groups of people defined, most typically, by having an event in common

Dichotomous questions disadvantages

Life is rarely a yes/no simple

Writing and formatting questions

Question format, wording, and order could influence a respondents' answers and survey results.

double negative questions

Questions that involve the use of two negatives.

Trend studies advantages

Researcher can maintain sample size as people move or drop out of the study, and track shifts in public opinion towards issues such as gun control and recycling.

leading question example

Why do you think the campus administration is unethical?

Open-ended questions advantage

You may get insights that you wouldn't get with highly structures questions

Semantic differential scale

a five-point scale in which the opposite ends have one- or two-word adjectives that have opposite meanings

filter question

a question that screens out respondents who are not qualified to answer a second question

funnel format

a type of question format in which questions begin with broad, open-ended questions followed by narrow, more closed-ended questions

inverted funnel format

a type of question format that generally begins with more closed-ended, narrow questions moving throughout the questionnaire to the most open-ended and broad questions

Open-ended questions

allow respondents to answer in their own words

double-barreled questions

asking two questions but only allowing for one answer

Negative wording

avoid phrasing questions with negatives

Dichotomous questions

closed-ended questions that ask the respondents to choose between two answers

double-barreled question example

do you think the hunter building is an asset to the campus, or should it be demolished?

Leading Question

force respondent into an assumption that may not be true

Rank order questions

get around the problem of respondents checking every possible answer Asked to assign a score

framing questions

influence respondents' answer to question by framing questions in a particular way, or by question order.

Mail Survey Disadvantages

low response rate limited depth of response slow collection of data no way of knowing who completed the survey can only target literate respondents'

Cross-lagged surveys

measure a dependent variable and an independent variable at two points in time and thus allow us to draw conclusions about the causality

online surveys pros

speed, low cost, geographic coverage, and the potential to present multimedia content.

Likert scale

strongly agree to strongly disagree