1. Survey Questionnaire Research
Chapter 4

2. Introduction to the Method
Survey researchers draw conclusions by asking people questions about their attitudes and behaviors.
The questions asked are central to the method--the questions should produce reliable (consistent) answers.
The questions should produce valid answers (respondents must interpret the question the same way and answer accurately).

3. Survey Questions Need to be clear and unambiguous
Need to be phrased with the level of measurement in mind
nominal
ordinal
interval
ratio

4. Levels of Measurement Nominal Ordinal
Mutually exclusive, symbolic categories
E.g., candidate X or Y
Male or Female
Ordinal
Ss rank a variable along some dimension
E.g., rank group members on leadership, from highest to lowest

5. Levels of Measurement Interval
A variable measure on a numerical scale, where the distance between the points on the scale are equal
it’s hard to find good examples from questionnaire research
Ratio
Similar to interval measurement except ratio measurements possess an absolute zero point, i.e., not an arbitrary zero point, as with the freezing point; height has an absolute zero point

6. Types of Questions Closed Open
closed questions ask Ss to choose between specified answers
E.g., Yes or No
Open
open questions allow Ss to answer in their own words

7. Sequencing of Questions
Researchers must decide on the sequencing of questions, called the
the tunnel
similarly organized questions
the funnel
starts with broad based, open questions, followed by narrower, closed questions
the inverted funnel
begins with narrow, closed questions and builds to broader, open questions

8. Response Set Researchers must be wary of response set
when questions are worded in the same “direction” or polarity and Ss choose only one end of the scale (p. 94)

9. Questionnaire Administration Procedures
Researcher-administered
Self-administered
Single or Multiple Administration
cross-sectional
at one point in time
longitudinal
administered more than once

10. usable respondents / total sampled
Response Rate
The response rate
the number of usable questionnaires or interviews divided by the total number of people sampled
usable respondents / total sampled

11. Choosing Survey Questionnaires or Interviews
Who are you questioning?
Do they have sufficient reading and writing skills? Will they respond?
Questionnaires lend themselves to closed questions and interviews lend themselves to open questions
Questionnaires are more suitable for studying sensitive topics
Response rate is higher for interviews than mailed questionnaires
What resources do you have: time, costs, facilities

12. Let’s Work on the Study, “Do Workers Trust Labor Unions and Their Messages?” (pp. 98-121)
Work in small groups and prepare:
(1) a brief summary of the study
(2) an analysis of each of the following:
quality of the questions (clarity)
level of measurement
sequencing
response set
response rate