Chapter 7 Survey Research

Question 1

Survey

Answer 1

designates a specific way of collecting data and identifies a broad research strategy

involves gathering info from individuals - called respondents, by having them respond to questions

Question 2

survey research

Answer 2

involves asking questions of a sample of people, in a fairly short period of time, and then testing hypotheses or describing a situation based on their answers

measures what people say not what they do

Question 3

questionnaire

Answer 3

contains recorded questions that people respond to directly on the questionnaire form itself, without the aid of an interviewer

Question 4

interview

Answer 4

involves an interviewer reading questions to a respondent and then recording his or her answers

Question 5

closed-ended questions

Answer 5

provide respondents with a fixed set of alternatives from which to choose

used to determine all the possible, theoretically relevant responses to a question in advance and the number of possible responses is limited

Question 6

open-ended questions

Answer 6

require that the respondents write their own responses, much as for an essay-type examination question

Appropriate for an exploratory study with few restrictions on answers

pretests are often given in pretest and then changed to closed based on answers

Question 7

wording of questions

Answer 7

Subject question wording to empirical test to avoid bias.

state questions in present tense

keep questions simple and direct, expressing only 1 idea and avoid complex statements

overestimate the reading ability of the average respondent to make it clear

avoid referring to things that we cannot clearly define or that depend on the respondent’s interpretation

never use slang

Question 8

structure and design of a questionnaire

Answer 8

precise directions

properly ordering of questions - Early questions should not bias later ones and Increase interest in completing instrument

question format - use box rather than a blank line, filter questions, contingency questions, matrix questions

response rate -

Question 9

filter question

Answer 9

one whose answer determines which question the respondent goes to next

Question 10

contingency question

Answer 10

responding is contingent upon response to filter question

Question 11

matrix question

Answer 11

lists the response alternatives only once; a box to check, or a number to circle, follows each question or statement (usually presented in a table format)

Question 12

response rate

Answer 12

the proportion of a sample that completes and returns a questionnaire or agrees to an interview

Non-respondents may differ in significant ways from responders.

Data from obtained sample may no longer be representative of the population.

Question 13

cover letter

Answer 13

accompanies a questionnaire and serves to introduce and explain it to the recipient

includes: 
Sponsor
Address/phone/email to contact researcher
How respondent was selected
Who is the study sample
Purpose of research
Who will benefit
Appeal for cooperation
Completion time
Payment
Anonymity/confidentiality
Deadline

Question 14

incentives and follow-ups

Answer 14

Payment increases response rate.

Stamped self-addressed envelope increases response rate.

Two follow-ups can generate 15-20% increase in response rate
Step 1: Reminder letter
Step 2: Letter plus additional questionnaire form.

Question 15

length and other influences

Answer 15

As length increases response rate declines

Avoid crammed appearance

Use boxed response choices and smooth transitions

Voice and manner in interviews

Reminders of confidentiality

Special populations

Question 16

checking for non-response bias

Answer 16

Compare characteristics of sample obtained to known characteristics of the population.

Check databases of target population.

Cannot prove lack of bias due to non-response

Question 17

advantages of questionnaire

Answer 17

Faster and cheaper than interviews

Able to reach geographically dispersed sample

Effective with sensitive topics

Eliminates problem of interviewer bias

Question 18

disadvantages to questionnaire

Answer 18

Require some literacy

Written instructions

Can’t probe

Can’t control who completes it

Responses not independent

High response bias

Question 19

Structure of interviews

Answer 19

Un-standardized:
Interviewer develops own questions and probes as interview progresses

Nonschedule-standardized:
More narrow topic
Specific questions asked of all respondents
Interviewer free to probe and rephrase

Schedule-standardized:
Specific instructions for interviewer
Specific questions in fixed order and transition phrases for interviewer.

Question 20

interview schedule

Answer 20

contains specific instructions for the interviewer, specific questions to be asked in a fixed order, and transition phrases for the interviewer to use

Question 21

contacting respondents

Answer 21

Increase refusals:
Phone to request interview
Send letter to request appointment

Reduce refusals:
Blanket area with information
Timing of contact
Communicate time required

Question 22

conducting an interview

Answer 22

The interview as a social relationship to exchange info

Secondary relationship - interviewer has a goal

Start with simple questions

Presence of third parties

Probes

Recording responses

Classifying responses into predetermined categories

Summarizing the “high points” of what is said

Taking verbatim notes

Making an audio or video recording of the interview

Controlling interviewers and interviewer falsification

Question 23

probes

Answer 23

follow-up questions intended to elicit clearer and more complete responses

Question 24

interviewer falsification

Answer 24

intentional departure from the designed interviewer instructions, unreported by the interviewer, which can result in the contamination of data

Question 25

diversity and the interview relationship

Answer 25

Interview is a social relationship
Social desirability effect impacted by gender, race, culture.
Social distance between interviewer and respondent
Cross-race interviewing studies show large effects.
Gender impacts on interviews
Matching for race, ethnicity and gender is common
Language of interview has impact.

Question 26

advantages of interviews

Answer 26

can help motivate respondents to give more accurate and complete info

offers an opportunity to explain questions that respondents may not have understood

presence of interviewer allows control over factors that are uncontrollable with mailed questionnaires

interviewing is a more flexible form of data collection than questionnaires

interviewer can add observational info to the responses

Question 27

disadvantages of interviews

Answer 27

cost - researchers need to hire, train and equip interviewers

time- traveling to the home requires time and limits to a few interviews a day

interviewer bias

possibility of significant but unnoticed variation in wording either from one interview to next or from different interviewers

Question 28

telephone surveys

Answer 28

Lower cost
Speed project completion
Reduced response bias
Foreign language friendly
Limited duration
Restricted to voice only communication
Non-coverage 
Computer assisted Telephone interviewing (CATI)

Question 29

computer-assisted interviewing (CAI)

Answer 29

using computer technology to assist in designing and conducting questionnaires and interviews

Question 30

computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI)

Answer 30

where an interview is conducted over the telephone, in CATI, the interviewer reads questions from a computer instead of clipboard and records directly in computer

Question 31

online surveys

Answer 31

Sent via e-mail or completed at web site
Inexpensive
Rapid response
Supplemental materials: graphics, images, audio.
Anonymity
Non-representative samples
Refusal rate
Compatible formatting across computers

Question 32

focus group (group depth interview)

Answer 32

an interview with a whole group of people at the same time.

a flexible strategy for gathering data

Led by one or more moderators direct the discussion by following an outline of the main topics of inquiry.

Data formats:
Raw data format
Descriptive approach
Interpretive model

Question 33

advantages to focus group

Answer 33

More flexible,
less-expensive
faster than individual interviews

Question 34

disadvantages to focus group

Answer 34

Less generalizable
Difficult to analyze
Qualitative rather than quantitative data