Chpt 7: Asking Ppl Abt Themselves (PSY302) Flashcards
Def: survey research
Survey research involves using questionnaires & interviews to ask ppl to provide info abt themselves - their attitudes & beliefs, demographics, and past or intended future behaviors.Surveys enable researchers to collect data directly from participants by asking them questions.
Surveys are a common & important method of studying behavior
Survey data provides useful info for making public policy decisions.
Survey research is also important as a complement to experimental research findings.
Def: a response set
A response set: a tendency to respond to survey questions from a specific perspective rather than to give answers directly related to the questions.
Includes a tendency to express agreement or disagreement with anything asked.
Def: the social desirability response set
The social desirability response set: the tendency to answer questions in the way that would reflect most favorably on the respondent.
2 potential issues with surveys
A response set
The social desirability response set
Without collecting _____, we are completely dependent on _______ we might hear or letters that gradual or customers might write.
data, stories
The 1st thing the researcher must do is explicitly __________ the research objectives
determine
3 general types of survey questions
Behaviors
Attitudes & beliefs
Facts & demographics (indicating things abt themselves)
What are some things that would make it harder to understand the question?
Unfamiliar technical terms
Vague or imprecise germs
Ungrammatical sentence structure
Phrasing that overloads working memory
Embedding the question with misleading info.
What are some general rules for making questions for surveys?
The questions should be relatively simple
Avoid double-barreled questions:
Avoid loaded questions
Avoid phrasing questions with negatives
When you ask several questions, a respondent might employ a response set to agree or disagree with all of them.
Def: yea-saying
Yea-saying: the tendency to agree consistently.
Def: nay-saying
Nay-saying: the tendency to disagree consistently
How to avoid nay and yea sayings?
One way to detect this is to word questions so that consistent agreement is unlikely.
With ________ ended questions, a ________ number of response alternatives are given.
closed, limited
With _________-ended questions, respondents are _______ to answer any way they like.
open, free
What did Schwarz claim?
Schwarz claims that the 2 approaches can sometimes lead to diff conclusions.
Def: rating scales
Rating scales: which assign scores along some numerical dimensions; are very common in many areas of research.
One common type of scale assumes a middle alternative is a “_________” pt halfway between the ___________.
neutral, endpoints
How to format a survey
Provides an attractive & professional appearance
Ensure it’s neatly typed and free from errors.
When using a particular scale format, use it consistently
Put the most interesting and important questions 1st.
Group related questions
Give the questions to a small group & have the think aloud while answering
Pros to interviews
Response rates tend to be higher
The interviewer can clarify any issues to the person might have in understanding the questions
An interviewer can ask follow up questions
Cons to interviews
interviewer bias
Interviewers might have expectations that can lead them to see what they are looking for in the respondents’ answers.
Def: interviewer bias
Interviewer bias: the interview cna inadvertently show approval or disapproval of certain answers
Def: a focus group
A focus group: an interview with a group of abt 6-10 ppl brought together for a few hours.
Questions tend to be open ended and group interaction is possible
Def: panel study
In a panel study, the same sample of subjects is studied at 2(+) more pts in time.
With proper ________ we can use info obtained from the participants who were sampled to estimate ___________ of the population as a whole.
sampling, characteristics
Def: probability sampling
Probability sampling: each member of the population has a specified probability (chance) of being chosen.
Def: simple random sampling
Simple random sampling: every member of the population has an equal probability of being selected.
Def: stratified random sampling
Stratified random sampling: the population is divided into subgroups (strata), & random samples are taken from each strata.
Def: cluster sampling
Cluster sampling: existing groups or geographic areas, called clusters, are identified; samples are taken from those clusters.
Def: nonProbability sampling
NonProbability sampling: the probability/chance of any particular member of the population being chosen is unknown.
Types of nonProbability sampling
Convenience sampling
Purposive
Snowball
Quota
Def: convenience sampling
Convenience sampling: haphazard or taken them where you find them, sampling
Def: purposive sampling
Purposive sampling: the sample meets the predetermined criterion.
Def: snowball sampling
Snowball sampling: sampling procedure in which 1(+) current research participants recruit others to become part of the sample.
Def: quota sampling
Quota sampling: the sample reflects the numerical composition of various subgroups in the population.
Samples should be ______________
representative
Def: sampling frame
Sampling frame: the actual population of ppl (or clusters) from which the sample is drawn.
Def: response rate
Response rate: the percentage of ppl sampled who completed the survey.
Research findings can provide important ______ even tho the data cannot be strictly _________ beyond the population defined by the sample.
info, generalized
