Learning with the Center for the Study of Local Issues Dan Nataf, PhD, Director Center for the Study of Local Issues Careers 132 Anne Arundel Community College 101 College Parkway Arnold, MD Agenda: I.Review Mission/History of CSLI II.Understanding surveys III.Your role IV.Review previous findings V.Questionnaire VI.Next steps

CSLI History and Mission Historical Background: In business since 1978! 1. Creation and operation as part of Division of Social Sciences: – a community college ‘research center’ 2.Operation as part of Sarbanes Center for Public and Community Service 2006-present Advisory Board: 20 +/- community activists, elected officials, government administrators, students, faculty Provides guidance and link to the community both within and outside the campus Staff: Director, Program Specialist, Student Interns

CSLI History and Mission Provide students opportunities to better understand applied social science research methods while encouraging civic awareness and engagement Serve community and local government by offering research services and communicating survey findings Provide opportunities for faculty professional development Help AACC understand its environment through relevant data collection and analysis Mission – four elements

Mission: Provide students opportunities to better understand applied social science research methods while encouraging civic awareness and engagement Activities providing student opportunities: Participation in community surveys Participation in client based research projects Student internships CSLI student club (see www2.aacc.edu/csli/csliclub.htm) CSLI History and Mission

Semi-annual Survey The survey process at a glance… 1.Conducted in March and October 2.Telephone interviews – (record 917) completions 3.Press releases 4.Public presentations 5.Media outreach 6.Web site ( CSLI: The Semi-annual Survey

Service Learning Process Semi-annual survey – how students participate for service learning credit (and Nataf’s extra credit) Up to five contacts with CSLI Introductory meeting 2-3+ nights of telephone interviews Final meeting – review of survey process, findings, SPSS/hypotheses testing Short paper (if 15 hours or more required) CSLI: The Semi-annual Survey

Semi-annual Surveys - Why is your role so important? How do surveys work? 1.Identify a population whose characteristics and attitudes are interesting to us 2.Our population – Residents of Anne Arundel County at least 18 years of age 3.Our goal – Ask a small group (the “sample”) questions 4.Generalize the findings to the whole population (the “universe”) CSLI: The Semi-annual Survey

How do surveys work? (continued) Find a proper sample size: costs vs. margins of error – Example: Population of 100k+, confidence interval 95% ErrorSample Size CSLI: The Semi-annual Survey Semi-annual Surveys - Why is your role so important?

How do surveys work? (Data collection) Options for data collection: Choices: 1. Face to face – personal interviews 2. Telephone – personal interviews 3. Self-administered - by mail, exit poll, group setting 4. Online – a version of ‘self administered’ Semi-annual Surveys - Why is your role so important? CSLI: The Semi-annual Survey

How do surveys work? ( Data collection continued ) CSLI’s process: Telephone – personal interviews – that’s what you will be doing CSLI: The Semi-annual Survey Semi-annual Surveys - Why is your role so important?

How do surveys work? ( Data collection continued) How do we choose who shall participate in survey? Two choices: (1) Randomly select from listed phone numbers (2) Use computer generated “likely unlisted residential numbers within your target jurisdiction” (3) Add in some cell phone numbers (option) CSLI’s lists of numbers are a 90/10 percent mix We start with over phone numbers! CSLI: The Semi-annual Survey Semi-annual Surveys - Why is your role so important?

How do surveys work? ( Survey assumptions) What are we assuming in using telephone numbers? That everyone in our target universe is equally likely to have a phone and willing/able to answer a survey Could other methods be used to ensure more complete representation? Ideally, yes! But the other data collection methods are harder to implement and/or more expensive… CSLI: The Semi-annual Survey Semi-annual Surveys - Why is your role so important?

How do surveys work? (Sources of error) What are other data collection challenges? * Interviewer bias * Social desirability (“Halo effect”) * Unclear questions * Non-attitudes * Non-response bias (both overall and to items) * Unequal representation of subgroups None of these is necessarily a fatal flaw, but should make us sensitive that there are more sources of error than just the statistical ‘margin of error’ CSLI: The Semi-annual Survey Semi-annual Surveys - Why is your role so important?

How do surveys work? (Getting to the finish line!) What happens to all the completed surveys? 1.Data entry. This means we need to enter all the answers into a database for statistical processing. 2.Statistical analysis. 3.Write a report. 4.Send it out as a “press release.” 5.Post it on the Web. 6.Use it in public presentations. CSLI: The Semi-annual Survey Semi-annual Surveys - Why is your role so important?

Semi-annual Surveys: Recent Major Topics Semi-annual survey – topics over the last couple of years Major issues facing the county Economic conditions and concerns in the county Perceptions of BRAC’s impact on the county The vision for public schools in the county Cigarette Tax Death Penalty Presidential job approval Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan Lots of demographic info: age, income, employment situation, race, religion, gender, party, ideology CSLI: The Semi-annual Survey

Presidential Job Approval: Fall ‘06-Sp. ‘11

County: Right/Wrong direction

AA County compared to USA – County looks around 35% better

ConditionFall 2005 Spring 2011 Balancing the county budget (less spending, more revenues) 018 Providing enough jobs 816 Providing enough skills/training or otherwise improving education/schools 1112 Managing growth/development 278 Having enough infrastructure, roads, transportation 37 All other answers 5139 Total 100 Compare 2005/2011 – Most important economic priority for the county Budget and jobs rise in importance

Notice decreases in government services? AnswerPercentage Yes 26 No70 Don’t know, no answer 5 Total101 Services mentionedCases Percentage Roads39 24 Schools/teachers31 19 Library24 15 College tuition12 7 Fire10 6 Seniors services10 6 Jobs/furloughs/pay cuts 10 6 Police9 6 Staffing7 4 Child services6 4 MVA3 2 Mental health2 1 Total Most don’t see an impact from govt. belt-tightening

21 IssueSupportOpposeUnsure Imposing an additional fine of up to $1500 on drivers caught drunk driving86131 Permitting the use of off-shore wind power near Ocean City8010 Increasing the alcohol tax68293 Permitting the purchase of marijuana for medical purposes65297 Taking away drivers’ licenses from those who refuse to pay taxes64323 Increasing the use of cameras to ticket those running red lights59414 Making same sex marriages legal in Maryland47467 Making preparations to implement President Obama’s health care reform law Limiting the use of binding arbitration when the county negotiates with public safety unions Allowing the children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition for college Increasing university tuition to maintain the quality of higher education32662 Reducing the pension and retiree health benefits of state workers28657 Promising state workers no furlough days, and providing them with a $750 bonus Increasing the county income tax to the maximum allowed by law to avoid cuts in essential services Increasing the gasoline tax to bolster the transportation trust fund17803 State and County Issues

YesNoUnsure /N.A. Total President Obama’s state of the union speech? Governor O’Malley’s inaugural speech or his state of the state speech Watched County Council hearings being broadcast on local cable stations anytime over the last year? Watched, listened or read about …

Estimates% Under $1 billion4 $1 billion to $500 billion 17 $501 to $999 billion4 $ trillion21 $ trillion10 $ trillion22 $5-6 trillion6 Over $6 trillion17 Total101 Estimations of Federal Budget 51% estimated Estimates% Under $1 billion30 $ billion26 $6 to $10.99 billion 7 $ billion4 $ billion5 $ billion3 $31-40 billion1 Over $40 billion24 Total100 Estimates% Under $5 million22 $5-50 million18 $51 to $100 million 10 $ million8 $ million9 $ million7 $ billion14 $ billion3 $ billion4 Over $7 billion6 Total100 Estimations of County Budget 31% estimated Estimations of State Budget 31% estimated

Perceptions of 2020: Health Care by Ideology and Party Health Care Quality/Access

Budget Issues: Party and Ideology AllDemRepInd.D-R Maintaining the tuition freeze at the University of Maryland Maintaining the level of state funding for public schools Requiring school employees to take several unpaid days off Shifting the cost of teachers’ pensions to local governments O’Malley doing poor job % Ideology Conservative55 Moderate33 Liberal10 Conservative-Liberal45 Party Democrat21 Republican62 Independent38 Democrat-Republican-41 % saying “support” O’Malley’s job balancing budget: Good=13%; Okay=42%; Poor=38%

The FALL 2011 Semi-annual Survey See Word document CSLI: The Semi-annual Survey

Next Steps 1.Make sure you know which evenings you are spending with us 2.First night – come at 5:30 p.m. training in telephone interviewing methods and questionnaire marking 3.Last two nights – no need for more training, come at 6:00 p.m. 4.Final meeting – in three weeks 5.If necessary, don’t forget to turn in your short paper See you next week! CSLI: Your Next Steps