“SURVEY”

Course Instructor: Dr S KorlaStudent: Krishna v Pillai (153657)

OVERVIEW OF SECTIONSOne: Basics of Survey Research

Two: Types of Data

Three: Elements of Item Construction

Resources

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SECTION ONE

Basics of Survey Research

SECTION 1BASICS OF SURVEY RESEARCH

Objectives

Describe what surveys are used to measure Give examples of how surveys can assess change Define "needs", "assets", "behavior", "opinions",

"attitudes", "beliefs"

Key Terms:questionnaire, descriptive research, prediction, evaluation, samples, panel study

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WHAT DO SURVEYS MEASURE?

Behavior, attitudes and beliefs

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DO A SURVEY (QUESTIONNAIRES)

Surveys are a systematic way of asking people to volunteer information about their attitudes, behaviors, opinions and beliefs. The success of survey research rests on how closely the answers that people give to survey questions matches reality that is, how people really think and act.

The problem that a survey researcher has to tackle is how to design the survey so that it gets the right information.

Is this survey necessary? Is the purpose of the survey to evaluate people or programs? Can the data be obtained by other means? What level of detail is required?

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WHY DO A SURVEY? The survey is an appropriate means of gathering

information under three conditions:

when the goals of the research call for quantitative and qualitative data,

when the information sought is specific and familiar to the respondents and;

the researcher has prior knowledge of the responses likely to emerge.

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USE OF SURVEYS BY STUDY DESIGN

Descriptive research

Causal explanation

Evaluation

Prediction

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BASIC SURVEY DESIGNS

Cross-sectional surveys: Data collected at one point in time selected to

represent a larger population

Longitudinal Surveys: Trend:

Surveys of sample population at different time points Cohort:

Study of sample population each time data are collected but samples studied maybe different

Panel: Data collection at various time points with the same

sample of respondents

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SECTION TWO

Types of Data

TYPES OF DATA COLLECTED

There are six basic types of data that you might collect:

Attitudes Opinions Beliefs Behavior Attributes (demographic characteristics) Preferences

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BASIC TYPES OF SURVEY QUESTIONS

The way a question or statement is worded and the response options offered determine the nature of the data received.

Types of survey questions include:

Open-ended response Agreement and rating scales Closed response Semantic differential scales Ranking scales Checklists

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BASIC TYPES OF SURVEY QUESTIONS

Open-ended question: Respondent writes response in own words.

Agreement scales End points are identified by adjectives or phrases Example:

a five point scale with steps labeled Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree.

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BASIC TYPES OF SURVEY QUESTIONS

Closed response: These are the "multiple-choice" variety where a

person has to choose among several possible answers.

Example:

Which of the following do you believe increases your risk for stroke?

Yes No Don’t know Smoking Overweight Stress Drinking alcohol

Hulley et al., (2007) Designing Clinical Research, 3rd Edition pg. 24214

MODES OF SURVEY ADMINISTRATION

Personal (face-to-face)

Telephone

Mail

Web

Combination of methods

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HOW DO YOU DECIDE ON THE MODE OFDATA COLLECTION?

Population+

Types of Questions+

Question Topic+

Response Rate+

$$ Cost $$+

Time

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COMPARISON OF MODES OF SURVEY ADMINISTRATION

Variable Mail Phone F/F

Cost Cheapest Moderate Costly

Speed Moderate Fast Slow

Response rate Low to moderate

Moderate High

Sampling need Address Telephone number Address

Burden on respondent

High Moderate Low

Control participation Of others

Unknown High Variable

Length of Questionnaire

Short Moderate Long

Sensitive questions Best Moderate Poor

Lengthy answer choices

Poor Good Best

Open-ended responses

Poor Good Best

Complexity of Questionnaire

Poor Good Best

Possibility of interviewer bias

None Moderate High

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SECTION THREE

Elements of Item Construction

SECTION THREEELEMENTS OF ITEM CONSTRUCTION

OBJECTIVES

Identify types of bias in questionnaires Identify and state how to correct common

wording problems Define types of response sets

Key Terms Social desirability, acquiescence, bias,

midpoint, operational definition

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HOW BIAS AFFECTS RESPONSE?

Need to say more?21

WRITING QUESTIONS

Good Questions Are clear and use simple language Are concise Are specific Are possible to answer Are relevant to the respondent Do not use negatives Avoid bias terms Have only one part (not two parted question)

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RESPONSE OPTIONS

Should reflect concepts you are trying to measure, and fit with the wording of the question Avoid simple “yes” or “no” answers and attempt

to measure intensity if possible

Mutually exclusive (select only one answer)

Exhaustive (all possible answers are listed, including other or not applicable or don’t know)

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QUESTION ORDER

Start with easy, salient, non-threatening questions near the end

Cluster questions addressing the same topic or concept together.

Avoid redundancy

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QUESTIONNAIRE FORMAT

As short as possible Visually attractive and nicely reproduced Readable (consider font size) Uncluttered Broken into logical sections if possible Clear skip patterns for contingency questions Clear spaces for respondents to mark answers

Boxes Parentheses (X) Or numbers to circle 1…2…3 Avoid lines to put check___

Amount of space provided for open-ended questions will determine amount respondent will write.

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INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPONDENTS

General instructions should be provided at the beginning of the self-administered survey Brief explanation includes:

Purpose Significance of the answers How to answer the questions Stress: CONFIDENTIALITY OF RESPONSES

Provide specific instructions to questions as needed

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PRE-TEST (PILOT)

Be sure to pilot test the survey instrument before the actual administration, especially if it is a new instrument that you constructed or has not been used previously in your population of interest.

Helpful Hint: Also good idea to test your sample design, data

collection analysis if possible.

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RESOURCES

http://www.esourceresearch.org/eSourceBook/SampleSurveys/1LearningObjectives/tabid/374/Default.aspx

https://accelerate.ucsf.edu/files/PACCTR_IntroSurveyResearch

http://writingcommons.org/research/empirical-research/survey/756-create-a-survey-instrument

Engineering Design (English) 4th Edition (Paperback) ISBN-101259064859

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ASK ME ANYTHING

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