Chapter 9: Survey Research

Question 1

A person who provides data for analysis by responding to a survey questionnaire

Answer 1

Respondent

Question 2

When is survey research the best method?

Answer 2

When you interested in collecting original data for describing a population too large to observe directly

Question 3

A document containing questions and other types of items designed to solicit information appropriate for analysis. Used primarily in survey research but also in experiments, field research, and other modes of observation.

Answer 3

Questionnaire

Question 4

Questions for which the respondent is asked to provide his or her own answers. In-depth, qualitative interviewing relies almost exclusively on this.

Answer 4

Open-ended questions

Question 5

Survey questions in which the respondent is asked to select an answer from a list provided by the researcher. These are popular in survey research because they provide greater uniformity of responses and are more easily processed than open-ended questions.

Answer 5

Close-ended questions

Question 6

What are nine of the major guidelines for asking questions on a survey?

Answer 6

(1) Choose appropriate question forms, (2) make items clear, (3) avoid double-barreled questions, (4) respondents must be competent to answer, (5) respondents must be willing to answer, (6) questions should be relevant, (7) short items are best, (8) avoid negative items, (9) avoid biased items and terms

Question 7

What are double-barreled questions?

Answer 7

Asking respondents for a single answer to a question with multiple parts (ex. “The United States should abandon its space program and spend the money on domestic programs.”)

Question 8

What are negative items?

Answer 8

The appearance of negation in a questionnaire (ex. The United States should not recognize Cuba). It is easy to miss the “not” and misinterpret the question.

Question 9

The quality of measurement device that tends to result in a misrepresentation, in a particular direction, of what is being measured.

Answer 9

Bias

Question 10

What are the four main methods of administering a questionnaire?

Answer 10

Mail, interview, phone, online

Question 11

The number of complete interviews with reporting units divided by the number of eligible reporting units in the sample.

Answer 11

Response rate

Question 12

The proportion of all cases interviewed of all eligible units contacted

Answer 12

Cooperation rate

Question 13

The proportion of all cases in which the housing unit or the respondent refuses to be interviewed, or breaks-off an interview, of all potentially eligible cases.

Answer 13

Refusal rate

Question 14

The proportion of all cases in which some responsible housing unit member was reached

Answer 14

Contact rates

Question 15

A data-collection encounter in which one person (an interviewer) asks questions of another (a respondent). May be conducted face-to-face or by telephone.

Answer 15

Interview

Question 16

A technique employed in interviewing to solicit a more complete answer to a question. It is a nondirective phrase or question used to encourage a respondent to elaborate on an answer. Examples include “Anything more?” and “How is that?”

Answer 16

Probe

Question 17

Explanatory and clarifying comments about handling difficult or confusing situations that may occur with regard to particular questions in the questionnaire

Answer 17

Specifications

Question 18

Three good sources for information on survey best practices

Answer 18

American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), Public Opinion Quarterly (POQ) the online journal Survey Practice

Question 19

What are some of the strengths of survey research?

Answer 19

(1) Useful in describing the characteristics of large populations, (2) make large sample sizes feasible, (3) standardized questions have strength in measurement

Question 20

What are some weaknesses of survey research?

Answer 20

(1) The standardized questions don’t always fit everyone well, (2) can seldom deal with the context of social life, (3) are subject to artificiality (ex. someone might not have an opinion on a topic but are required to form one on the spot to answer the survey question)

Question 21

A form of research in which the data collected and processed by one researcher are reanalyzed–often for a different purpose–by another. This is especially appropriate in the case of survey data. Data archives are repositories or libraries for the storage and distribution of data.

Answer 21

Secondary analysis

Question 22

A survey question intended for only some respondents, determined by their responses to some other question. For example, all respondents might be asked whether they belong to the Cosa Nostra, and only those who said “yes” would be asked how often they go to company meetings and picnics.

Answer 22

Contingency question