Lesson 11 - Survey Research
Surveys
Popular and versatile research instruments using a question format. *Surveys can either be self-administered or read by an interviewer.
Scale
A composite measure of one concept created from a series of two or more questions
Double-Barreled Question
A single survey question that actually asks two questions but allows only one answer
Web-Based Survey
A survey designed on a server; respondents are asked to visit a website and respond to the web questionnaire by checking answers.
In Person Interview
A survey in which an interviewer questions respondents and records their answers
Mailed (self-administered) survey
A survey involving a mailed questionnaire to be completed by the respondent
Filter Question
A survey question used to identify a subset of respondents who then are asked other questions
Omnibus Survey
A survey that covers a range of topics of interest to different social scientists
Group-Administered Survey
A survey that is completed by individual respondents who are assembled in a group
Electronic Survey
A survey that is sent and answered by computer, either through e-mail or on the web
Computer-Assisted Self-Interviewing (CASI)
A system within which respondents interact with a computer-administered questionnaire by using a mouse and following audio instructions delivered via headphones
Reference Period
A time frame in which a survey question asks respondents to place a particular behavior (e.g., in the past 6 months)
Exhaustive Response
A variable's attributes or values in which every case can be classified as having one attribute
Open Ended Question Adv/Disadvantages
Allow respondent to fill in own answer -Detailed responses -No preconceived content of answer -Must go though several steps before ready for analysis
Which guideline for writing good survey questions does the following question violate? "Do you disagree that the death penalty should not be used to punish sexual assault?" Avoid confusing phrasing and vaguness Avoid double negatives Avoid double barrelled questions Avoid making agreement or disagreement disagreeable
Avoid double negatives
Which of the following is NOT a feature of surveys that makes them popular with researchers? Versatility Causality Efficiency Generalizability
Causality
A survey question designed to ensure that questions are only asked to relevant subjects is called a:
Filter Question
People who see themselves as neutral in their attitudes toward a particular issues are known as:
Floaters
An omnibus survey is designed to:
Generate data useful to investigators with multiple interests
A survey that is completed by individual students in a classroom is called a:
Group administered survey
Survey questions used to elicit additional information following an open-ended question are called:
Interpretive Questions
A survey item that measures respondent agreement or disagreement with a statement along a continuum from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree" is known as a:
Likert-Type Question
Reverse Code
Recoding response choices that were originally coded to reflect both favorable and unfavorable attitudes toward a phenomenon as indicative of either all favorable or all unfavorable, so the index is measuring the same thing
Cover Letter
The letter sent with a mailed questionnaire. It explains the survey's purpose and auspices and encourages the respondent to participate
Skip Pattern
The unique combination of questions created in a survey by filter questions and contingent questions
Idiosyncratic Variation
Variation in responses to a question that is caused by individuals' reactions to particular words or ideas in the question instead of by variation in the concept that the question is intended to measure
Computer Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
Software that uses a touch-tone telephone to interact with people to acquire information from or enter data into the database
Mixed-Mode Surveys
Surveys that are conducted by more than one method, allowing the strengths of one survey design to compensate for the weaknesses of another and maximizing the likelihood of securing data from different types of respondents -For example: non-respondents in a mailed survey may be interviewed in person or over the phone
Double-Negative Question
A question or statement that contains two negatives, which can muddy the meaning
Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI)
An interview in which data collection and data entry can occur concurrently and data entry error is minimized. Most large surveys are performed in this way.
Which guideline for writing good survey questions does the following question violate? "Is it possible that you might eventually be willing to consider using pepper spray as a method of self-protection?" Avoid confusing phrasing and vaguness Avoid double negatives Avoid double barrelled questions Avoid making agreement or disagreement disagreeable
Avoid confusing phrasing and vagueness
Which guideline for writing good survey questions does the following question violate? "Do you think that traffic cameras are unconstitutional and that they should be removed?" Avoid confusing phrasing and vaguness Avoid double negatives Avoid double barrelled questions Avoid making agreement or disagreement disagreeable
Avoid double barreled questions
Which guideline for writing good survey questions does the following question violate? "Do you think that it is a good idea to murder convicted criminals?" Avoid confusing phrasing and vaguness Avoid double negatives Avoid double barrelled questions Avoid making agreement or disagreement disagreeable
Avoid making agreement or disagreement disagreeable
A questionnaire does not have to be designed for a specific target population T/F
False
Survey questions that do not have specific answer choices are called:
Open ended questions
Anonymity
Provided by research in which no identifying information is recorded that could be used to link respondents to their responses
Interpretive Questions
Questions included in a questionnaire or interview schedule to help explain answers to other important questions
Contingent Questions
Questions that are asked of only a subset of survey respondents
Interview Schedule
The survey instrument containing the questions asked by the interviewer for an in-person interview or phone survey
Fixed-Choice (Closed-Ended) Question Adv/Disadvantages
Survey question providing pre-formulated response choices for the respondent to circle or check -Quick Response -Consistency in type of response -Easier to analyze statistically
Which of the following is true about survey question construction? A. Survey questions can be tailored to specific respondents B. Survey questions can be rephrased for clarity while they are being administered C. Survey questions must be designed to be understood by the variety of people surveyed D. Nuances in meaning can be expressed through survey questions
Survey questions must be designed to be understood by the variety of people surveyed
Floaters
Survey respondents who provide an opinion on a topic in response to a closed-ended question that does not include a "don't know" option but will choose "don't know" if it is available
Fence-Sitters
Survey respondents who see themselves as being neutral on an issue and choose a middle (neutral) response that is offered
Likert-Type Responses
Survey responses in which respondents indicate the extent to which they agree or disagree with statements
The following survey question suffers from what problem? How many times have you been arrested in the last six months? 0-3 times 3-6 times 6-9 times more than 9 times A. There are no problems with this survey question B. The response set is not mutually exclusive C. The response set is not exhaustive D. The question is unclear and vague
The response set is not mutually exclusive
Split-Ballot Design
Unique questions or other modifications in a survey administered to randomly selected subsets of the total survey sample, so that more questions can be included in the entire survey or so that responses to different question versions can be compared
