Week 4 (Distributing a Survey)

Question 1

Cross-sectional design

Answer 1

-One sample
-One measurement
-One moment in time
-Can compare groups measures at that one moment in time

Question 2

Longitudinal design

Answer 2

-One sample
-More than one measurement
-More than one moment in time

Question 3

Time-lagged design

Answer 3

-More than one sample
-One measurement
-More than one moment in time

Question 4

Pros and Cons of cross-sectional design

Answer 4

PROS
-Quick, easy, cheap data collection
-Useful for establishing relationships (exploratory research)
-Flexible: administer as many measures as you like within a survey

CONS
-Direction of relationships (causality) can’t be assessed i.e, which variable is the cause.
-Possibility that relationships are due to things not measured: “confounding” or “third” variables.
-Cohort effects: single time-point findings may not be relevant in the future

Question 5

Pros and Cons of longitudinal design

Answer 5

PROS
-Measure the effect of time or age on variables
-Investigate predictions rather than simply relationships
-Allows for more complex statistical analyses

CONS
-Participants may miss one or more testing waves
-Selective attrition: When a particular characteristic makes it more likely that a person will drop out
-Administration costs
-Huge time investment
-Practice and fatigue effects in data
-Cannot modify method halfway through
-Can be mitigated by being a source for cross-sectional work

Question 6

Pros and Cons of time-lagged design

Answer 6

PROS
-Resource efficient
-Many variables can be collected at each point
-Time-changes not influenced by fatigue or practice effects

CONS
-Not possible to examine intra-individual (within individual) change
-Time-related effects ay be due to ‘cohort effects’

Question 7

Mail surveys pros and cons

Answer 7

PROS
-Low costs
-No interview bias
-Suitable for sensitive topics

CONS
-Low completion rates (30%)
-Prone to non-responses bias
-Errors may arise from participants misunderstanding

Question 8

Personal (face-to-face) surveys

Answer 8

PROS
-Can make use of computer-technology - CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interview)
-More control and flexibility over how the survey is administered

CONS
-Interviewer bias = influences responses or records them incorrectly
-High costs

Question 9

Telephone interviews

Answer 9

PROS
-Cost-effective
-Time-effective
-Can use technology - CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interview)

CONS
-Sampling bias
-Interviewer bias
-Low response rate

Question 10

Online surveys

Answer 10

PROS
-Low costs
-Large, diverse, geographically remote, or underrepresented populations
-Quick data collection
-Recruitment can be automated

CONS
-Sampling bias
-Non response bias
-Lower response rates compared to mail personal and telephone survey
-Lack of control over the research environment.