1. Survey Research And a few words about elite interviewing

2. Agenda Elite interviewing The logic of a survey Survey formats Types of Survey Questions Writing Good Questions Formatting A Survey Hand back quiz

3. Elite Interviewing Elites People in government People in government Activists Activists Labor Leaders Labor Leaders Not ideal for standardized questions Some standardization is desirable

4. Elite Interviewing One on One Face to Face Preparation Questions up front? Confidentiality Right of Approval? Get accurate record

5. Surveys Fixed questionnaire Sample of the population of interest Choose a good random sample Generalize to population of interest

6. Administering Surveys Face to face TelephoneMailInternet Non-response is a general concern

7. Survey Questions- Types Open ended Advantages Unstructured Unstructured More nuanced More nuanced In their own words In their own wordsDisadvantages Time consuming to administer Time consuming to administer Must be interpreted/grouped Must be interpreted/grouped Tend to only support nominal level data Tend to only support nominal level data Closed ended Advantages Yield immediate data People answering in same terms People more willing to respondDisadvantages May miss important dimensions May lose some detail May aggregate answers in odd ways May be confusing

8. Open Ended Questions Is there anything in particular about MR. CLINTON that might make you want to vote FOR him? Is there anything in particular about MR. CLINTON that might make you want to vote FOR him? Is there anything in particular about MR. CLINTON that might make you want to vote Against him? Is there anything in particular about MR. CLINTON that might make you want to vote Against him? What do you think are the most important problems facing this country?

9. Closed Ended Questions Think about BILL CLINTON. In your opinion does the phrase "he is honest” describe Bill Clinton extremely well, quite well, not too well, or not well at all?

10. Closed Ended Some people think it is important to protect the environment even if it costs some jobs or otherwise reduces our standard of living. (Suppose these people are at one end of the scale, at point number 1.) Other people think that protecting the environment is not as important as maintaining jobs and our standard of living. (Suppose these people are at the other end of the scale, at point numbeer 7.) And, of course, some other people have opinions somewhere in between, at points 2,3,4,5 or 6.

11. Open vs. Closed Ended What was your total household income before taxes in 2003? I am going to mention a number of income categories. When I come to the category, which best describes your total household income before taxes in 2003, please stop me. Under $10,000 Under $10,000 10 to less than $20,000 10 to less than $20,000 20 to less than $30,000 20 to less than $30,000 30 to less than $40,000 30 to less than $40,000 40 to less than $50,000 40 to less than $50,000 50 to less than $60,000 50 to less than $60,000

12. Branching Question Start with a screener Collect more detail Generally speaking, do you usually think of yourself as a Republican, a Democrat, an Independent, or what? Would you call yourself a strong Democrat or a not very strong Democrat? Would you call yourself a strong Republican or a not very strong Republican? Do you think of yourself as closer to the Republican or to the Democratic Party?

13. Midpoint/Don’t Know Midpoint- allows for neutral response Advantage- might be more accurate Advantage- might be more accurate Disadvantage- too easy? Disadvantage- too easy? Don’t know Advantage- cuts down on guessing, eliminates false attitudes Advantage- cuts down on guessing, eliminates false attitudes Disadvantages- missing data, not used equally by all groups Disadvantages- missing data, not used equally by all groups

14. Randomized Response Technique Good for getting more truthful answers on controversial issues. Randomly assign people to answer sensitive or random question (interviewer does not know) Look at question overall Compare rate of yes answers to see if it differs from expected yes answers for random question

15. Group 1 Imagine the US is preparing for an outbreak of an unusual Asian Disease which is expected to kill 600. Two alternative plans to deal with it have been proposed. If A is chosen, 200 People will be saved If B is chosen, there is a 1/3 Chance that 600 people will be saved and a 2/3 chance that no people will be saved

16. Group 2 Imagine the US is preparing for an outbreak of an unusual Asian Disease which is expected to kill 600. Two alternative plans to deal with it have been proposed. If Program A is adopted, 400 people will die If Program B is adopted, there is a 1/3 probability that no people will die and a 2/3 probability that 600 people will die

17. Results If A is chosen, 200 People will be saved If B is chosen, there is a 1/3 Chance that 600 people will be saved and a 2/3 chance that no people will be saved If Program A is adopted, 400 people will die If Program B is adopted, there is a 1/3 probability that no people will die and a 2/3 probability that 600 people will die

18. Equivalence frames A and B are numerically equivalent across conditions When framed in terms of death, people take risk (group 2) When Framed in terms of saving, people choose sure thing Take home point: Little differences in wording can make a big difference

19. Bad Questions Ambiguous Double Barreled Leading/Loaded Questions

20. Ambiguous Questions What is your income? How often do you participate in community events? Always Always Sometimes Sometimes Rarely Rarely Never Never

21. Double Barreled Questions How much to do agree with the following statement: There is too much violent crime. Citizens should be able to carry handguns for personal protection. Irish, Italian, Jewish, and other minorities overcame prejudice and worked their way up. Blacks should do the same without any special favors.

22. Leading Questions Do you believe that the government should take action to stop the flood of illegal immigrants coming into our country? Do you intend to vote for candidate A who will bring you peace and prosperity, or candidate B who will bring you war and crippling taxes?

23. Challenge- What Wording Some cases clearly wrong Other’s less clear cut 75% agree with the statement: The federal government should spend more money on aid to the poor 75% oppose the statement: The federal government should spend more money on welfare.

24. Formatting a Survey Order Matters Generally, put open ended questions first Put sensitive measures first Randomize where possible

26. For Next Time More on Surveys and Sampling Annotation 2 due