Survey Research

Question 1

covert observation

Answer 1

Identify: in observational data, cover observations occur when the subjects you are studying do not know they’re being observed

Significance: unlike overt observations, covert observations do not have external validity problems. The subjects do not know they are being studied, thus they are not changing their behavior by the fact of being observed. Covert observations can be generalized to the population.

Question 2

overt observation

Answer 2

identify: in observational data, subjects you’re observing know they are being studied.
significance: subjects may act a certain way by virtue of being studied, “reactivity” is occurring- changing their behavior by the fact of being observed.

Question 3

direct observational data

Answer 3

entity being measured is being observed directly.

ex.) observing # of people littering by watching them

Question 4

indirect observational data

Answer 4

entity being measured is inferring the trade of interest as it cannot be observed directly.
ex.) gathering/looking for alcohol in the trash and inferring how much alcohol is being consumed

Question 5

recording unit

Answer 5

• A piece of text, or mention, being coded for its content in content analysis data.
• code up to four units, do not need to code all of the mentions due to cost.

Question 6

participant

Answer 6

identify: researcher is participating/ active in the data being observed
significance: external validity problem being active in the study affects the behavior of the group being observed

Question 7

reactivity

Answer 7

An observational data problem. Individuals/groups being studied are changing their behavior by the fact of being observed. An external validity problem in overt and participant observational data, cannot generalize the population.

Question 8

non-differentiation/satisficing

Answer 8

Data Quality Issue
-Issue that arises when people are responding to a question in a battery, typically people give the exact same response that is not true to their actual feels; non-differentiation in their response. i.e. likert Q’s, always choosing agree

Satisficing: doing the bear minimum and rushing through the survey. Tends to lead to non-differentiation

FTF: less; Telephone: more; SAQ: ? (no interviewer)

Question 9

social desirability

Answer 9

Data Quality Issue
-When one particular response is the socially acceptable/desired response
FTF: occurs more, maximum S.D. People feeling pressured to say what they assume is the status quo when in a face to face IW.

Question 10

use of visuals

Answer 10

Data Quality Issue
FTF: yes, maximum understanding of what is being asked of people during an interview.
Significance: highly reliable and valid

Question 11

missing data

Answer 11

• loosing people on a variable can cause the most bias as people that do not response are most likely not similar to people who do.

FTF: low missing data, hard for people not to response when face-to-face
Telehone: medium
SAQ: HIGH, almost 20-25% missing data.

Question 12

Respondents vs. Informants

Answer 12

Those being interviewed in survey research…
respondents: giving information on themselves and their own experiences
VS
informants: responding on behalf of some other entity; can be thought of as experts on the entity being studied. Ex: interviewing a member of an organization to get information on that organization.

Question 13

double-barreled

Answer 13

Identify: an ambiguous question wording in survey research that asks more than one question at a time. Ex: “UCB should raise faculty salaries and lower student tuition, agree or disagree”

Significance: Because people may agree with one statement but not the other, double-barreled questions cause confusing/difficulties for survey respondents (or informants) that yield unreliable and invalid measures. Double-barreled questions should be avoided when constructing survey questions.

Question 14

elaboration probe

Answer 14

identify: a structured tactic used to prompt interviewees in elaborating on their answer. Signified by TM ‘tell me more’
significance: elaboration probes are used to counter vague responses.

Question 15

sampling fraction

Answer 15

identify: the ratio of the sample size over the population size. n/n(pop)
significance: sampling fraction represents the proportion of population units that are selected in the sample.

Question 16

quarter release of a sample

Answer 16

identify: A feasible randomized release of a sample that divides the sample into four subsets released at different times. Typical in FTF mode.
significance: breaking the field period into four parts creates a representative sample in each individual subset as well as decreasing its compounds.

Question 17

daily release of a sample

Answer 17

identify: A feasible randomized release of a sample that releases new cases every single day.
significance: removes the confound between the time and event, increasing the sample’s representativeness. Administratively unmanageable in FTF mood, can be seen in telephone mode.

Question 18

close-ended question

Answer 18

identify: close-ended questions are always given a set of response options with no intent of elaboration.
significance: Always appears in survey research. A quick way to gather data from the respondents/informants.

Question 19

open-ended question

Answer 19

identify: open-ended Qs are not given a set of response options. Allows for the interviewee to elaborate on said question in their own words/ personal experience.
significance: Provides a detailed response that occurs in in-depth interviewing.