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2206 RESEARCH METHODS > Week 8 : Survey Research > Flashcards

Week 8 : Survey Research Flashcards

1
Q

What is a survey?

A
  • highly structured… close ended questions & fixed response options
  • quantitative
  • large sample size
  • large number of questions
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2
Q

Why survey? (3)

A
  1. quantify change over time
  2. effectiveness
  3. breadth of topics
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3
Q

Why survey?

1 - quantify change over time

A
  • within-person change
  • cohorts
  • societal trends
  • done through… cross sectional & longitudinal (repeated cross sectional & panel designs)
  • MUST ask same questions every time/place when doing longitudinal
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4
Q

Why survey?

2 - effectiveness

A
  • standardized formats (consistent measures)
  • short questions & multiple choice answers
  • large sample possible
  • representativeness (generalizability)… high external validity if used a probability sample
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5
Q

Why survey?

3 - breadth of topics

A
  • can include many questions/topics
  • easy to replicate
  • data for many studies (can be used by researchers with diverse research interests)
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6
Q

Primary vs secondary data

A
  • primary data… social scientists can design & carry out their own surveys
  • secondary data… use & analyze data from large surveys carried out by others like the government & large universities
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7
Q

Challenges of survey research (4)

A
  1. nonresponse
  2. coverage error
  3. sampling error
  4. measurement error
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8
Q

Challenges of survey research (4)

1 - nonresponse

A
  • Survey nonresponse… no participation at all
  • Question nonresponse… no response to particular questions on the survey
  • Systematic error… individuals who do and do not respond differ in systematic ways! (bias)
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9
Q

challenges of survey research (4)

1 - nonresponse solutions

A
  1. anticipate potential errors with a literature review
  2. write good survey questions
  3. organize the questions (professionalism is key!)
  4. test & revise the survey questions before launch
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10
Q

challenges of survey research (4)

2 - coverage error

A
  • the sampling frame does not adequately capture all members of the target population
  • either by systematically omitting some or by including others more than once
    *
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11
Q

challenges of survey research (4)

2 - coverage error solutions

A
  • Anticipate the potential errors (lit review)
  • Address the errors in sampling strategy
  • Acknowledge any systematic errors
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12
Q

Challenges of survey research (4)

3 - sampling error

A
  • sampling does not represent the population accurately
    *
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13
Q

Challenges of survey research (4)

4 - measurement error

A
  • occurs when the approach used to measure a particular variable affects the response provided
  • Source of error is the survey design, the interviewer, the setting, etc.
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14
Q

4 modes of administration for surveys

A
  1. face-to-face
  2. telephone surveys
  3. mail or Self-administered questionnaires (SAQs) surveys
  4. online surveys
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15
Q

Criterea for deciding which mode of adiminstration to use

A
  • cost
  • response rate
  • researcher control over data-collection process
  • potential for interviewer effects
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16
Q

1 - face-to-face

A
  • interview schedule
  • high cost, response rate, researcher control & potential for interviewer effects
  • interviewers make observations about the setting too (para-data)
  • ensures participants answer more honestly about like height & weight and visible things like that
17
Q

2 - telephone surveys

A
  • Structured interview administered over the phone
  • moderate cost, high response rate, moderate researcher control & potential for interviewer effects
  • pros… interviewer can guide, less planning, can guage opinions on emerging issues
  • cons… interviewer effects, fatigue, cell phones, ppl don’t wanna be bothered & no showcards (to remember responses)
18
Q

3 - Mail or Self-administered questionnaires (SAQs) surveys

A
  • low cost, response rate, researcher control & potential for interviewer effects
  • questionairre
  • cons… more missing data/idks, can’t ensure targetted repsondent acc filled it out & very low response rate
19
Q

4 - Online surveys

A
  • low cost, moderate response rate, moderate researcher control & low interviewer effects
  • pros… little risk of data entry errors, easy nevigation & reach a lot of ppl
  • cons… ‘diginal divide’ (access), can’t be probability sample, ethical concerns maybe
20
Q

Sampling for surveys…

A
  • the goal is to quantify while elimintation systematic errors & using stats to estimate sampling errors
  • probability samples… stratified sampling good but very expensive
  • non-probability samples… systematic bias (Wier et al.), useful but not really
21
Q

Sampling for surveys - quota sampling

A
  • Convenient sample (non-probability)
  • Can have quota to mirror population characteristics
  • Quota ≠ Strata
  • e.g. online sample services , qualtrics, Amazon M Turk, etc.
  • more affordable that probability samples
  • Still: systematic error!
22
Q

ethical considerations…

A
  • Most surveys are not sensitive, but some are! (e.g. HIV, drug use, sexual orientation)
  • confidentiality… surveys obtain highly personal and sensitive information & if this information is made public, it could be a source of harm to respondents (use identification IDs)
  • anonymity… unrealistic & unpractical, can’t do follow-ups if they can’t figure out who they are
  • can cause minor psychological distress
23
Q

Typical steps to survey research

A
  1. research questions
  2. conceptualization & operationalization (Theory -> Hypotheses -> Concepts….. -> Variables)
  3. sample & survey mode
  4. survey questionairre (write & organize)
  5. data collection
  6. data processing
  7. analysis
24
Q

Survey content (organization)

structure of questions

A
  • The stem poses the question & the response categories provide the pre-set answers that the respondent may select
25
Q

Survey content (organization)

Closed-ended vs Open-ended questions

A
  • closed ended… Answer options must be mutually exclusive & exhaustive, often used to measure the frequency of behaviours & many use a rating scale
  • open ended… only require a brief answer, more personal, can be acc question or just ‘other: (specify)
26
Q

survey content

organization of questions…

A
  • skip patterns & screener questions
  • establish trust & rapport early in the survey
  • avoid monotony & response set (switch between positively & negatively worded questions)
  • avoid order effects (improve by adding sections)
  • avoid priming effects
27
Q

survey content

Single Item vs Composite…

A
  • single item… one variable = one survey question
  • composite variable… one variable = many survey questions & also need to specify how you will combine them (either indexing or scaling)
28
Q

Characteristics of High-Quality Questions

4 characteristics of high-quality questions…

A
  1. use clear & simple language
  2. be precise
  3. exercise caution when dealing with sensitive topics
  4. avoid leading questions
29
Q

Characteristics of High-Quality Questions

1 - use clear & simple language

A
  • brief, clear & concise
  • no academic jargon
  • double negatives should be avoided cuz they are difficult to understand (e.g. “do you favor or oppose not legalizing physician- assisted suicide?”)
30
Q

Characteristis of high-quality questions

2 - be precise

A
  • avoid double barelled questions…
  • e.g. “How much confidence do you have in the Prime Minister’s ability to handle domestic and foreign policy”
  • do not assume prior knowledge of respondent
31
Q

Characteristis of high-quality questions

3 - caution with sensitive topics

A
  • use neutral language that does not stigmatize the behaviour of interest
  • questions should avoid emotionally laden words that might upset respondents
32
Q

Characteristis of high-quality questions

4 - avoid leading questions

A
  • questions should be as fair & as even-handed as possible
  • veading questions are phrased to lead or guide responses to a particular answer, yielding results that support the organization’s goals
  • may include a morally charged word that pushes respondents toward or away from a particular answer
  • avoid acquiescence bias, in which some respondents answer ‘agree’ to attitudinal questions (yes/no options)
33
Q

recap

A
  • Thoughtful sampling can help a lot with coverage error and sampling error
  • Post-survey weighting can help with survey non- response
  • Some statistical procedures can help with question non- response (missing values)
  • But a large part of survey success lies in the questionnaire
    ○ Pretest
    ○ Preliminary data analysis
    Cognitive interviews

2206 RESEARCH METHODS (11 decks)

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