Survey Research Flashcards
Uses information obtained from a select members of the population,
analyzes the responses, and the draws conclusions applicable back to
the same population
survey research
survey research uses information obtained from a______________ of the population,
_______________ the responses, and then ____________ conclusions applicable back to
the same population
select members; analyzes; draws
types of survey research
- descriptive
- explanatory
opinions and attitudes
descriptive
explaining a cause and effect
explanatory
in survey research, the validity of the results depend on the ____________________________________ (methodology)
quality of the study’s internal rigor
what are the 6 uses of survey research?
- study the incidence, distribution, and relationships of sociologic and psychological variables
- collect information from sample and generalize findings
- identify, assess, and compare respondents’ ideas, feelings, plans, beliefs, and demographics
- how healthcare programs should be implemented by utilizing expert opinions
- study effectiveness of a program
- understand attitudes and behaviors of patients or members
T/F: survey research is applied in those that implement policies
T
types of survey research
- descriptive surveys
- explanatory surveys
attempt to identify psychosocial variables
descriptive surveys
enumerate the psychosocial variables identified using descriptive surveys
attitudes, opinions, knowledge, and behaviors in a population
attempt to explain causal relationships between variables
explanatory
types of data collected in survey research
- incidence
- attitudinal
- knowledge
- behavior measurements
try to determine the occurrence of events without drawing any relationships between variables
incidence
example: morbidity or mortality data, manpower data
incidence
try to compare the dependent variable with independent variables such as age, education, or salary
attitudinal
example: job satisfaction surveys
attitudinal
T/F: attitudinal data is fixed or constant in a sense that independent variable will change but will not change because of another variable
T
attempt to document a person’s knowledge or understanding about a specific topic
knowledge
example: physician’s knowledge of retail prices of medications or pharmacist’s knowledge of state pharmacy laws
knowledge
documents what a person actually does in a particular situation rather than asking him or her in a survey
behavior measurements
data that should reflect the actual observed behavior
behavior measurements
example: what will you do when an earthquake occurs while delivery a baby?
behavior measurements
tools used to perform data collection
- questionnaires
- examination of historical records
- interviews (telephone, face-to-face, panel)
- web-based questionnaires
- focus groups
characteristics of a well-conducted survey
- objective and carefully planned
- data are quantifiable
- subjects surveyed are representative of the target population
no sampling = ________________
more prone to errors
errors affecting precision and accuracy
- coverage error
- sampling error
- measurement error
- nonresponse error
bias in a statistic that occurs when the target population you want to survey does not coincide with the sample population that is actually surveyed
coverage error
error that can compromise the ability to generalize study results
coverage error
difference between the estimate derived from a sample survey and the true value that would result if a census of the entire target population were taken under the same conditions
sampling error
occurs when the researcher surveys only a subset (sample) of all possible subjects within the population of interest
sampling error
collection of data is influenced by the interviewer or when the survey item itself is unclear from the respondent’s point of view
measurement error
a significant number of subjects in a sample do not respond to the survey
nonresponse error
nonresponse bias can result in surveys, where the answers of respondents ________________________________ of those who did not answer
differ from the potential answers
in nonresponse error, we must strive for response rates in the ________________ range
80% to 90%
things to consider in evaluation of survey
- factual data and internal validity
- sample size
- sample frame
- sampling strategy and response rates
- survey instrument reliability
assess validity and reliability of the survey and efforts made to validate factual data
factual data and internal validity
asking more than one question about a concept can ________________________ of a survey
increase the internal validity of a survey
example of correlation analysis
Cronbach alpha
orrelation analysis such as Cronbach alpha or similar statistical test that measures correlation between items should be calculated and the coefficient factor(s) reported in the article
factual data and internal validity
interpreted in the same fashion that coefficients of reliability are interpreted
cronbach alpha
what does a value of 0 indicate in Cronbach alpha
no consistency between responses
increasing consistency in Cronbach alpha is seen as you approach the value of
0.8 to 1
what is the minimum coefficient score in Cronbach alpha
0.8
methods section should report sample size, along with a description of how it was determined
sample size
sample size is _____________ in nature
numerical
provides the minimum number of individuals that needs to be sampled from the population
sample size computation
appropriate ___________________ will give sufficient _______________________ to demonstrate a difference between two groups
sample size; sufficient statistical power
sample frame is _______________ in nature
descriptive
describes the population from where actuals samples will be drawn from for the survey respondents
sample frame
a sample is __________________ if all members of a population had a chance to be chosen and no one was systematically excluded
comprehensive
methods section should supply the reader with enough information to ensure that nonresponse error was assessed and measures were taken to control the possible errors
sampling strategy and response rates
T/F: It does not matter if authors relate as much information about non-responders as possible
F: should relate as much info as possible
a ssess the reliability i.e., can the results of the survey be repeated by another investigator and present the results of reliability estimates
survey instrument reliability
survey instrument reliability is a ___________________ that measures correlation between items
statistical test
in survey instrument reliability, measurement of correlation between items should be used as a ______________________
reliability estimate
an assessment of a questionnaire made before
full-scale implementation to identify and correct problems such as faulty questions, flawed response options, or interviewer training deficiencies
pretest or pilot test
