survey research Flashcards
survey research
collection of information through individuals responses to questions (sample)
what form of data is surveys?
self report
what type of data do surveys produce
qualitative
quantitative
both
what research approaches can use surveys?
experimental
correlational
qualitative
(across all research approaches)
why are surveys often used?
to operationalise constructs
what surveys are typically used?
questionnaires
interviews
what two categories can surveys be split into?
self administered (questionnaires) interview administered
types of self administered surveys
postal
online
in person
types of interview administered surveys
telephone
face to face
what can surveys be used to gather data on?
attitudes behaviours opinions motivations emotions satisfaction demographic data
surveys can be used to collect data from when?
can be used to collect retrospective data, present data or future data
purposes of surveys
information gathering
theory testing and building
advantages of samples
simple straight forward approach
can easily be adapted to different population
standardisation
self administration or interview options
advantages of self administered data
big samples, can retrieve a large amount of data
efficient, fast, cheap
anonymity
advantages of interviews
question clarification
interviewer can encourage involvement
disadvantages of surveys
characteristics of participant might effect data collected
self administration and interviews have negative side effects
disadvantages of self administered questionnaires
people may misunderstand the questions
do not know what the response rate will be in advance
disadvantages of interviews?
interviewers characteristics
interaction between participants and interviewer
participants may be less honest
characteristics of participants that may effect data collected
memory knowledge experience motivation personality
standardisation of surveys
surveys are typically standardised measuring instruments
what and how it is administered is clear
normative data is often available to offer a comparison
what are psychometric tests
standardised questionnaires designed to measure particular traits or abilities
examples of psychometric tests?
personality inventories
cognitive ability tests (memory, reasoning, logic)
measure of mental health status
reliability and validity of psychometric tests?
reliability is established
validity is sometimes questionable
how are items in psychometric tests published?
as an inventory
standardisation of psychometric tests?
norms available allowing interpretation of individual participants data
results expressed as a standardised score
when to design a new questionnaire? what to avoid when designing a new questionnaire?
when no established tool exists to measure the the phenomena of interest
avoid jangles, different labels for what is essentially the same thing
What is piloting?
test on a small group of people before administering it more widely
how to carry out a pilot study ?
Administer to a small sample
identify problematic items and revise
ask respondents for feedback
general design principles
keep it short
make sure its readable
provide appropriate responses
expand on keep it short
omit any questions that will not provide useful data
expand on make sure its readable
Ps must be able to understand the language used
some people are not good readers so you should make it easy to read
expand on provide appropriate response options
avoid forcing your Ps to choose between more than one correct option, or not having any correct options
response rates
the percentage of questionnaires completed and returned from those distributed
how to maximise response rates to questionnaires
keep them short
keep them simple
include prepaid envelope with postal surveys
sending a reminder after one or two weeks
offering an incentive
ordering a survey
can be useful to add subdivisions
screening- is the participant eligible
start with easy and engaging questions
use funnelling/ branching questions if appropriate
demographic questions in a sample
characteristics of the sample
typically contained in a single sections
what may be included in demographic section?
date of birth gender ethnicity and/or racial background place of birth religion sexual orientation relationship status occupation or earnings
what is important in the demographics segment?
only include relevant questions
ensure response options are open to all
open questions considerations and when to use
Only use if justified
Ensure focus is clear
Decide on analysis strategy from outset
More useful for descriptive/ exploratory work
pros of open questions
provide more detail
rich data
doesn’t impose assumptions
cons of open questions
longer and more difficult to complete
difficult to analyse responses
close questions considerations and when to use
ensure questions are unambiguous
provide clear response options
carefully consider style of response options
more useful for explanatory or predictive work
pros of closed questions
quick to complete
easy to analyse (objective)
standardised responses
cons of closed questions
can impose assumptions
oversimplify complex issues
things to avoid in surveys
double-barrelled questions ambiguity negations double negatives questions that are laden or leading
