Survey Research

Survey Research Structured interview of: Sample of individuals in order to generalize to a larger population Survey modes: Face-to-face Paper-and-pencil RDD telephone Direct mail Internet

Advantages & Disadvantages Generalizability - external validity Representativeness - unbiased sample Customizability - wide variety of research questions Time - 6 months from start to finish Cost - Face-to-face vs. Telephone vs. Mail Hard to find facilities and experts Causality - Non-experimental design

Misconceptions Single time-point >>> Longitudinal, Panel Designs Must be face-to-face >>> Can use telephone, mail Interviewers read questions >>> Self-administered Individuals as unit of observation >>> Family Non-experimental >>> Can embed experiments Atheoretical >>> Can test hypotheses Surveys are a very flexible research technique

Reliability of Survey Research Stability: In panel designs, test-retest correlations of same respondents’ answers Reproducibility: Open-ended querstions: Agreement between coders Internal Consistency: In testing scales, the homogeneity of items

Validity of Survey Research Face: Do items capture concepts? Content: Are relevant dimensions represented by indicators? Convergent: Are multiple indicators correlated? Divergent: Do indicators allow us to differentiate from other concepts? Do indicators differentiate between distinct concept dimensions?

Stages in Survey Research General Research Questions Specific Research Questions Sampling Design Questionnaire Development Interviewer Training Pretest Fieldwork - Test Content Coding Analysis Computation Report Writing

Questionnaire Construction Length: :30 for telephone, longer for personal/self-administered Ordering: Put an easy question first, funnel toward specific Save sensitive question for the end Transitions: Ease them from one section to another Probes: Further information, elaboration

Training Interviewers Two parts: 1. Basic interviewing skills 2. Specific interview schedule, questionnaire

Motivations and Barriers Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivations: expression, boredom, loneliness, politeness, curiosity, loyalty Barriers: Suspicion, fear, inadequacy, privacy, distractions, time to answer, etc. Overcoming Barriers: confidentiality, listening, probing, repeating, focus, and practice