Exam 2: Survey Methods and Developing a Research Instrument Flashcards
What is descriptive research also known as?
Experimental research
What is the basic question that descriptive research ask?
descriptive research asks: What is?
What does descriptive research measure and record?
Events that would happen anyway.
T/F: Descriptive research has no manipulation of variables.
True.
How is manipulation of variables impossible or unethical in descriptive research?
Unethical to ask children not to sleep in sleep study; unethical to cause injury in researching different therapies.
T/F: Cause-and-effect is more difficult to establish in descriptive research.
True
what are the effects of no randomization in descriptive research?
there is less control and many threats to internal validity.
What are the three traits of survey research?
descriptive, exploratory, explanatory.
what is the unit of analysis in descriptive research?
respondents
Who are respondents in survey research?
the person whom the questions are being asked.
What samples, attitudes and data does survey research entail?
large samples, original data, measuring attitudes and orientations.
how is a survey research implemented?
consist of asking questions of representative sample of desired population at single point in time.
What is the most difficult part in conducting a survey?
writing the questions.
What does a survey seek to do?
to determine present practices or opinions of a specific population.
how is data collected in a survey?
through questionnaires of interviews.
What is a questionnaire?
a self reported instrument that is mailed or handed to respondent to complete with no help from outside sources.
What is an administered questionnaire?
respondents are directly given the questionnaire.
what is a distributed questionnaire?
the questionnaire is mailed of electronically delivered.
What are the 3 interview methods in survey research?
- phone interview
- personal interview
- focus group interview
Advantages of survey research (3)
- best method for collecting original data for describing population too large to observe directly
- probability sampling reflects larger population
- standardized questionnaires provide data in same form for respondents
Disadvantage of survey research
Relies heavily on response rate.
How to organize a questionnaire
- layout important
- number of questions; more questions = poor return rate
- place easy to answer and key questions first
- sensitive questions near end
- collect demographic information
how to organize a cover letter for a survey questionnaire
- be professional and concise
- state and explain importance and purpose of survey
- assure of privacy
- have basic instructions, incentives may be used.
What is an open-ended question? (unstructured)
- it is exploratory = allows for details
- preferred for complex questions
- difficult to analyze
- requires more respondent time and effort
what is a closed question? (structured)
- standard answers provided
- facilitates answering sensitive questions
- easy for respondent
- easy to code and analyze
What are the three important attributes for composing questions?
- focus
- brevity (concise)
- simplicity
when should validity and reliability be determined for a questionnaire?
- before it is administered
how do you conduct a pilot study?
- send questionnaire to colleagues
- revise and send to sample population
- analyze results
- revise again and use
What decisions are made when developing a questionnaire?
- number of items
- types of scales
- item intensity
- wording
what are the three types of scales in surveys?
- likert scale
- guttman scale
- semantic differential scale
what is the Likert scale?
- level of agreement
- agree, neutral, disagree
what is the guttman scale?
- cumulative scaling of increasing intensity
- check each statement you agree with: marry immigrant, live next to immigrant, immigrants in USA
What is the semantic differential scale?
- scale that rates along continuum
- good to bad 3-2-1-0-1-2-3
