1. Survey Methodology EPID-626 Lecture 1

2. 1/12/00 What is a survey? A survey is a system for collecting information to describe, compare, or explain knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. (Fink, 1995)

3. 1/12/00 What can surveys reasonably assess? Behaviors associated with disease Personal attributes that affect disease risk Knowledge/attitudes that influence health behaviors Use of health services Self-reported disease occurrence (Rothman, 1998) Megan O'Brien:Rothman,1998,p451Megan O'Brien:Rothman,1998,p451 Megan O'Brien:Rothman,1998,p451Megan O'Brien:Rothman,1998,p451

4. 1/12/00 What may be unreasonable for survey? Very personal information Information about socially undesirable behavior Intricate details of past events Complex clinical information

5. 1/12/00 Options for topics that may be unreasonable for survey Don’t use a survey –Example: examine medical records instead Use survey but use other methods to verify some information –Example: use a survey to measure possible cancer risk factors and ask about history of cancer. Examine medical records to verify reported information about history of cancer

6. 1/12/00 Compensate for potential problems in the survey design –Example: make the survey anonymous if asking for very personal information or about socially undesirable behavior Use a survey, but recognize the limitations of the results –Example: present prevalence rate, but comment that it is likely to underestimate the true prevalence

7. 1/12/00 “Sponsoring a special-purpose survey data collection is a rather expensive solution to an information problem. Before launching such an effort, one should explore thoroughly the potential for gathering the same information from existing records or from other sources.” (Fowler, 1995)

8. 1/12/00 Alternatives to surveys May be necessary –biologic specimens, medical testing May be more feasible –existing data sources Multiple methods may be used together

9. 1/12/00 Advantages of surveys You can: –obtain standardized measurements –use probability sampling –ensure that all the data needed for a given analysis can be obtained

10. 1/12/00 Your research question Is the question –relevant? –important? –timely? Always begin with a literature review Formulate a hypothesis Can you test the hypothesis with a survey?

11. 1/12/00 Feasibility Can you obtain the necessary information to answer the research question? –Can you get the information? –Will the data be accurate? –How much will it cost (staff, other resources)? –How long will it take? –Is your study ethical?

12. 1/12/00 Ready to start? Not even close!! Think about your research endpoint What kind of data do you need? How will you collect the data? Who will you collect data from?

13. 1/12/00 Wanted: Project Coordinator Assisting the department director in carrying out applied survey research, your duties will include: formulating study designs and sampling frames;..developing instruments; supervising data collection, entry, and manipulation; application of descriptive and inferential statistics; interpreting results and preparing reports. (Fink, 1995)

14. 1/12/00 Survey To-Do List Set objectives for information collection Design research Prepare a reliable and valid data collection instrument Analyze data Report the results (Fink, 1995)

15. 1/12/00 Checklist for a great survey Specific objectives Straightforward questions Sound research design Sound choice of population or sample Reliable and valid survey instrument Appropriate analysis Accurate reporting of survey results Reasonable resources (Fink, 1995)