methods and concepts Flashcards
cross sectional surveys
- conducted at one moment in time.
- provide a “snapshot” of the attitudes and values of a sample, at a single
timepoint.
longitudinal surveys
- conducted across multiple time points
- allow researchers to observe how individuals’ attitudes, values and
behaviours change over time
different types of longitudinal surveys
trend surveys, panel surveys, cohort surveys
trend surveys
§ Focus on how people’s attitudes/behaviours change over time
§ They do not require interviewing the same people at each time point because the interest is in trends, not specific people
If your sample is representative of whatever population you wish to describe over time, it isn’t important that the same people participate each time
panel surveys
§ The same people participate in the survey each time the researcher fields it
§ Sampling bias
□ As they often lose respondents over time (ex. people die or drop out for other reasons)
§ Attrition bias
□ The people who remain may have certain characteristics - being healthier, more committed or interested in a topic - that can skew the study’s findings
§ Easier to infer causality
□ Evaluate whether a cause-effect relationship exists between 2+ variables
§ Have a type of built-in control and experimental groups
□ The participant earlier in time is the control group, and after the change in the IV, they become the experimental group
Allows more certainty that any changes in outcomes that a participant experiences were due to changes in the focal independent variable
cohort surveys
A researcher identifies a category of people who are of interest and then regularly surveys people who fit that category
attrition bias
A type of bias in longitudinal surveys that arises when a substantial
proportion of respondents have dropped out of the survey and the people who remain
have certain characteristics that may skew the study’s findings
nonresponse bias
a type of bias that arises when there are differences between
respondents and nonrespondents, which skews the sample away from the target
population
What are the main benefits of conducting survey research?
cost-effectiveness, efficiency in data collection, the ability to gather data from large populations, and flexibility in data types collected
What factors may lead a researcher to conduct either a cross sectional or longitudinal
survey?
- Research Goals
- Time Constraints and Resources
- Nature of the Research
- Need to Establish Causality
- Population Characteristics
How can biases in survey research shape the claims a researcher can make about their
findings?
- drawing inaccurate conclusions
What does it mean to say that a sample is representative?
- if its results are generalizable in estimate
how can researchers ensure a representative sample?
We should calculate our sample size meticulously to ensure it is representative of the population. Utilizing statistical methods such as random sampling and stratified sampling helps minimize biases and ensures diverse inclusion
when is survey research useful
quickly gathering data from a large group to describe characteristics, explore opinions, and test hypotheses
fence sitters
Respondents who choose neutral responses instead of disclosing their real preferences
respondents
Researcher poses a set of predetermined questions to a sample of individuals
floaters
Respondents who choose a substantive answer when, in actuality, they don’t understand the question or have an opinion
Can be motivated by the social desirability of having an opinion on an important issue. This can be more of an issue if a question does not provide a neutral questio
response rate
- The percentage of people who actually completed the survey out of everyone asked to participate
Determined by dividing the number of completed survey questionnaires by the number originally distributed
